Insanity Isn't A Disease
by DrizztDo'UrdenNeverDies
Summary: A BillDip, of course, where Dipper takes annual trips to Gravity Falls with Mabel over the summer, Wendy's at college, Soos is grieving (he'll be back), and Bill is... somewhere. I'll leave that up to you. Rated M for a lemon, emotional disturbance, and violence. This is a change from before, so please be cautious.
1. Griffin Feathers Aren't Worth The Waite

It was June 1st, in Gravity Falls, OR, USA, and the Mystery Twins' fourth annual trip to the aforementioned place. A skinny, fifteen year-old Dipper Pines ran along a damp, deserted ally in the near-dark dusk light, racing the setting sun to get home in time for his sister's boyfriend's meet the family night, one of the most important nights of the summer, and one that happened quicker every year. It never ceased to surprised him how fast and how well Mabel gained a boyfriend every year. Though he was in a hurry, a race futile against time, he wasn't blind. A thin body was sprawled out to the side of the ally, clearly using the brick wall behind themselves to keep from falling over. They had long dark hair and a dirty t-shirt on. The ally wasn't very wide, nor clean, and they looked hurt. Dipper felt for them, felt their pain somehow affecting him as if it were his own.

"Excuse me, do you need help?" Dipper asked, cautiously walking over to the person. He didn't want to be stabbed, but he couldn't just leave them there. They just groaned. "Can I pick you up?" They nodded, but it was a jerking movement. Dipper had grown strong (sort of) from his spending every summer out here, but this person was light, almost like they had no muscle or fat at all. He jogged at an even pace now, not wanting to jostle the poor soul. The sun still cast it's radiance throughout the town, though it was meager and there were deep shadows in every niche and crack. He was exhausted by the time he got back to the Mystery Shack, mostly from running, but also from carrying the person. He walked up the steps to the shack and knocked on the door. Shouting echoed from the inside and it opened to a disheveled looking Mable. She had a cut above her eyebrow and her eyes themselves were bloodshot, but the bright cheery smile was still there, kept safe from the world like an old heirloom.

"Mabes! What happened to you?" He asked, walking inside slowly, making sure not to bang the person he held tightly in his arms against the doorway.

"What happened to you, Bro? You said you would be here, and you weren't! It went up in flames. Very. Big. Flames!" Mabel had a... history. Ever since she had first gone out with the stack of gnomes, Norman, she hadn't been able to score a real date with someone who wasn't supernatural. Their Grunkles therefore required a screening process for anyone she brought home.

"What was it this time?" Dipper asked, smirking.

"He is an elf. A beautiful, handsome, elf!" She cried, throwing her hands up. "Grunkle Stan could care less, but Ford hates him. I think he's just scared from having to fight Hot Elf a few times. He left a few minutes ago, begging me never to contact him again." She sniffled, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm sorry, but I was detained. As you can see... this person needs help. I couldn't just leave them! It took me a little long because of that." Dipper frowned at the bundle in his arms. "I'm going to go put them on the couch." He walked over and did as he said he was going to, then nealt by them. They simply rolled out of his arms, like a rag doll would. "Can you go get Grunkle Ford?" Mabel nodded, then ran off. Dipper stared at the figure, unmoving from it's splayed out position. He hoped, desperately that this mysterious figure would be all right. He didn't know why, but there was something about them that just made Dipper want to help them, made him want to heal the creature.

"Dipper? Is there som- oh my." He turned to see Ford trailing behind Mabel, with a dismayed expression on his face. "Get up, Dipper. I need to look at them." Dipper complied, his face worried. Ford stared at the figure for a minute or two, then stood and turned to face the twins. "There's something odd about this. This person is neither hurt nor diseased from what I can tell, yet they still seem to be in ill health. Dipper, can you run a bath? Mabel, can you make some tea? I don't know what's wrong, but it's bad." Dipper scurried off quickly to run a hot, clean bath for the teen. He placed his hands carefully on the faucet, making sure the temperature wouldn't be too hot or too cold. He filled their deep, beige tub about seventy five percent of the way up, the called to Grunkle Ford that the bath was ready. After a minute or two of waiting, the door opened, but instead of the old man he expected to see, there was the stranger, awake and, surprisingly, alive. They had golden-yellow eyes that caught Dipper's. The person didn't smile or thank him, instead they just looked down at the aqua floor tiles and gripped the hem of their shirt self-consciously.

"Dipper, you'll have to bath him. I'm sorry to put you in that... erm... awkward position, but you're the best possible candidite." Ford's voice echoed from the other room. Dipper blushed.

"Okay, well, I don't know why you can't bath yourself, but I'll do it," Dipper said to the tall teen, smiling nicely. The person just nodded curtly, then in a swift motion shut the door. "Um... I'll just stand over here and you can get undressed and in the water, okay?" The stranger nodded again and Dipper turned around. About five minutes later, a small unsteady voice graced Dipper's ears.

"You can turn around now." The person's voice was rough, like it had not been used in awhile, but it was sweet somehow. Dipper turned around, and was instantly stunned. The older kid was beautiful, like a statue come to life. His hair that was previously dark brown was now like pure spun gold, and his skin was also tinted gold. It shimmered under the florescent light of the bathroom, like fairy dust. "Is something wrong?" they asked, smirking.

"Oh, um. Nothing." Dipper recovered, shaking his head frantically. They laughed lightly, then began to cough. "Whoa, whoa." Dipper walked over. "So, what's your name and pronouns, anyway?"

"I'm... Will. I go with he/him. You? I guess I already know you're Dipper, but pronouns?"

"He/him, as well. Thanks. So, are you... okay?" Dipper smiled kindly again, hoping for a different response than before.

Will laughed, and it sounded like a breeze running through the trees. "Depends on your definition of 'okay' kid! Are we talking physically or mentally?"

"Physically, I think." Dipper gazed strangely at the person sitting across from him. "How old are you?"

"Why do you ask?" Will gazed back, his eyes hypnotic.

"Mmm... I was... just wondering," Dipper slurred, his head resting on his hand, which sat on the cool tub.

"Well, kid, it depends on your definition of time, but that's another story. Let's just say twenty, alright?" Dipper nodded distractedly, smiling at the boy in the tub.

"Dipper? How's it going in there?" Grunkle Ford's voice called from the other side of the door, jerking Dipper out of his reverie.

"Oh! Um... fine! It's fine- going!" Dipper shouted, sounding alarmed. There was no response from his Grunkle, which frightened him. Will smiled oddly, but the other boy didn't seem to notice.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, concern replacing the sinister expression.

"Yeah, thanks." Dipper smiled at him gratefully.

"Hey, this water is getting cold. Can I possibly borrow some clothes and stay here a night?" Dipper nodded and walked out of the small room. He walked up the creaky wooden stairs to his and Mabel's room. He dug around in their surprisingly roomy closet, looking for some clothes that might actually fit the man. After a few minutes of searching in a dusty chest, probably unsafely, knowing what Ford kept laying around, he came up with a blue and black plaid flannel shirt and some black skinny jeans. It would make a surprisingly passable outfit for leftover clothes. He nearly ran back down the stairs, busting into the bathroom.

"Hey, back already?" Will questioned sarcastically, smirking.

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be in the living room. Come out when you're ready and I can try and find you a place to sleep." He walked out before Will could say something rude.

"So? How do I look?" Dipper looked up from the Sibling Bros book he was re-reading to see Will doing a runway walk into the living room. He looked hot as Hell, but Dipper wasn't about to say that out loud.

"Devilishly handsome!" A voice answered for him. Mabel, of course. Will jumped, looking scared for a split second, but it quickly faded.

"Oh, well thank you, charming young madmoiselle!" He exclaimed, turning to meet Mabel. "And who are you?"

"I'm Mabel, she/her pronouns, and yes, I would love to go to dinner with you!" Mabel said, producing her hand. Will shook it, laughing.

"Well that is good to know, should I ever need a date, but I'm full in that department for now." Mabel made a face, but quickly started smiling again.

"Mabel, can you think of any free, clean rooms, that Will can stay for a night? I looked around a bit, but I can't find any." Dipper asked her, his eyes concerned.

She thought for a moment, cocking her head to one side. "No, I can't," she said, shaking her head. "I'll go ask Stan and Ford!" She ran out of the room.

"So? I never got your opinion on my ensemble. Do I pull it off?" Will asked again, crossing his arms behind his head. The fabric fit his lithe form perfectly, like a glove. A very... exciting glove.

"I..." His throat went dry. "I like it," he choked out, smiling sheepishly and feeling like an idiot. Why couldn't he just compliment Will like a normal person?

"Thanks," the other man said warmly, smiling back at him and seeming oblivious to Dipper's loss of words.

"Grunkle Stan says you can sleep in our room if you're not a pedophile!" Mabel ran back into the room, shouting.

"I'm not, as far as I know," Will said, laughing awkwardly.

"Did Grunkle Ford agree to that?" Dipper asked skeptically.

"Well he wasn't there to say no!" Mabel cheered.

It was bedtime, and Dipper was curled up in his bed, reading a book on quantum physics that Ford had recommended to him. It was fascinating, but he was tired from the circus of events that had happened in the last few hours. He was tempted to stay up and finish it, but he knew himself enough to know that that was a bad idea, especially with a house guest. Mabel was in her bubblegum pink bed across the room, fast asleep, and Will was on the floor, already snoring away, his blonde waves flung about the ancient mattress that he was laying on. He was hot even when he was asleep. Dipper immediately reprimanded himself for that. He shouldn't be thinking these things about a man five years his senior. Even if it was true. There was something off about him though, something that endeared Dipper to him. It seemed ominously familiar, and yet at the same time enchantingly different from anyone he'd ever known. Dipper fell asleep to thoughts about who Will might be, other than the poor maybe twenty-year old that had somehow gotten hurt and been flung out on the streets.

Dipper trudged along in the dark, alone and in the same alleyway as the one where he found Will. It was damp and musty, and dirty. The smell of an old dumpster someone forgot emanated from somewhere. He was sweaty and weary from a long, hard, day of work at Greasy's. Suddenly someone screamed, and the sound pierced through the night like a arrow, but it didn't seem to change the uneasy stillness that surrounded him. Terror filled his heart and mind. Dipper felt his adrenaline skyrocket, and he began to run, his lungs already heaving. Someone was following him. He had to get to the Mystery Shack. He needed to. Bill would get him if he didn't. But the alleyway never seemed to end. It went on as long as he ran, as far as he could see. Bill was in his mind. That's what this was. Bill was in everyone's mind. Dipper was the only one who could take back Dimension 46'/. His arm turned to liquid blood. It stained his shirt and shorts and arms and legs and knees and shoes and forehead and hair. He screamed. Everything went to black.

Dipper woke up, soaking in sweat. There were tears in his eyes, and he felt horrible, like what he could imagine his blood curdling would feel like. The arm that had turned to blood was sore and felt like he hadn't moved it in a decade.

"Are you okay, Pine Tree?" Mabel asked, her voice distorted as she asked the question. He screamed again, the old nickname of his giving him shivers.

"Is Bill in your head too? Did he get to you already? I was gonna save us! I need unicorn hair!" Dipper shouted, then began to cry, his bloodshot eyes welling up with tears. "I... can't save... anything..." He sobbed, curling up into a ball.

"Dipper? Are you okay?" Mabel asked again, this time getting up from her place on the floor and sitting on the edge of his bed. "You were screaming in your sleep," She informed him.

"Wait. Calm down." He told himself, ignoring Mabel. "It was a dream. I'm safe. We're safe. It was a dream, right Mabel? Bill's not back. Right?"

"He's not. We're all safe. We killed him, remember? We all did it together, and we'll all be safe forever." Mabel explained softly to him. He nodded.

"Right. We're okay." Dipper took a deep breath. "Did I wake anyone?"

"No, everyone's already awake. It's ten AM. Grunkle Stan told me to stay with you until you wake up. Everyone but Will is done with breakfast, but I'm sure he'd stay at the table with you and talk. I have to go to work now, since Grunkle Stan is really cracking down on my hours this year, so have fun for me!" She smiled happily and trotted off, probably more than ready to flirt with the boys who bought stuff.

Dipper stood up slowly, still not quite feeling steady from his dream. He thought about it as he took a shower, letting the cool water wash over and relax him. Did this mean Bill was back? He didn't know how, since they had defeated him, supposedly forever. But Grunkle Ford had offhandedly mentioned something about how forgiving the Axolotl was known to be. Really, in Gravity Falls, anything was possible one way or another. It was the charm of the place, really. Hope was abundant, and so was kindness. Dipper dried off and dressed quickly, crossing his fingers in hope of Will still being at the table. Dipper flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. Will sat peacefully at the table, sipping his coffee and eating pancakes, undoubtedly with Mabel-like amounts off maple syrup. His shirt was unbuttoned, showing his bare chest.

"Um... Hey, Will." Dipper said as he grabbed the last few pancakes and sat down across the table from Will to scoop some butter on them. They were cold by now, but Dipper wasn't really focused on eating anyway.

"Hello, Dipper! How are you on this fine day?" He sounded happy.

"I am... tired. I had a terrible dream last night. You?" Dipper asked, trying to be polite.

"Wait, wait. What was your dream about? I always talk about my dreams to someone, then they don't seem so very bad." Will explained, moving to sit next to Dipper.

"Well, I was walking home from... somewhere, down the same alley I found you, and then I-I heard a scream and was convinced someone was following me and I couldn't get out, so I ran. The next thing I knew, my arm... it was gone and Bill Cipher was in my head and I went crazy... then I woke up." Will smiled comfortingly and put his arm around Dipper's shoulders. Dipper blushed as he felt the man's bare chest brush his vest, and his thoughts went crazy. Will was so hot. Ugh! He wasn't supposed to think like that. He was supposed to think nice friendship things, not sexual things.

"Do you feel so terrible about it now?" Will asked, and all Dipper could manage was a simple shake of his head. "Are you okay?" Will asked, using the hand that was not around Dipper's shoulders to lift his head up to face Will. Dipper blushed harder. He could imagine it clearly, now, with their faces so close, unbearably so, him kissing Will and Will kissing him back. He could almost feel it already, his lips soft against the other boy's and it would be perfect. But that wouldn't happen. Will had clearly stated he was with someone else.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," Dipper answered.

"Hmm... I don't believe you. You still look shaken. And sad."

"Well, I guess I have one question," Dipper wondered how Will seemed to know him so well, even though they had only met last night, and barely talked since then. "Who are you dating? I mean you said you were full in that department as of now, which clearly means you're dating someone, and why didn't they come find you or something last night? Clearly they can't care about you very much if they didn't worry about you enou-"

"Maybe I just didn't want to hurt Mabel's feelings." Will interrupted him. "And, anyway, I just have my eye on someone. They're really special, I can tell. I just met them recently, but I really like them." Will practically had stars in his eyes as he told the boy, and he gripped Dipper's shoulders tighter.

"Oh." Dipper looked back down at the ground, feeling awkward. "I like this one dude. He's really special too, but it might just be my bias. I don't think we'll ever happen, but someday it might be worth a shot."

"Everything's worth a shot if you like it enough to want to give it a shot, kid." Will smiled at him again, then got up. "I promised your Stans that I would either work in the gift shop or find another house and another job, so I better do that!" Dipper just stared at the beautiful man as he walked away, his hips swaying, a lucky glimpse of his bare back as the wind threw his shirt out like a cape behind him.

"I guess I should go work too," Dipper murmured underneath his breath. He stood as soon as he was finished with his meal and walked into the Mystery Shack's gift shop portion.

"Dipper, wonderful! I was just looking for you. I need you to go to the forest and harvest some griffin feathers. Take someone with you! It's not safe for you to go alone." Ford said, stepping into the elevator, and Dipper nodded.

"Hey, Mabel! You wanna go to the griffin's nest with me?" Dipper asked her, walking into the gift shop and leaning on the counter that she stood behind, waving bye to a boy leaving the shop who was about her age.

"Sorry Dip-Dop. As I told you, I actually have to work today. Tomorrow, though. I promise!" Mabel looked at him apologetically, then resumed checking out customers. Dipper sighed, disappointed at Mabel for her maturity. Ford would undoubtedly have something for him to do tomorrow though, so it was okay. He insinctively looked around for Wendy, but she was gone, and would be for another three years. It was her first year at college and away from home, and though it saddened Dipper, having his former crush and current friend away for so long, it was really good for her. She was getting her masters' in painting. Over the two years Dipper had known her, she had found a safe place in art and actually turned out to have a real knack for it. Whenever she painted, you could just see the joy that encompassed her. Soos was gone to, and so was his abulita, as there was a recent death in the family. Soos didn't give anymore information, but he said he would be back near the end of the summer, in time for the twins' birthday. That left... Will, who was nowhere to be seen. That was great. Really great. It wasn't that Dipper didn't want to spend time with Will. Under Mabel and Ford, he wanted to spend the most time with him out of anyone in Gravity Falls. But he needed a break from him. Dipper needed to get Will out of his mind for a few hours. He needed to reform how he thought about the man, since there were so many problems with how he currently did. They could never be anything. Will was five years older than him, for one. That's a pretty big gap, especially with both of them being on opposite sides of the age of majority. Will could even vote! Also, Will already had someone he was pretty set on, it sounded like. Someone as cool as Will would probably never see anything in a nerdy teenager, anyway. But Dipper still couldn't help but feel this... lightness, this pointless happiness, for his heart was free and in love. And it was all about Will. That was the problem.

"Hey, Dipper. I ran into Stanford, and he said to make sure you had found someone to go with you to find some... uh... Griffin feathers, was it?" Dipper jumped as Will walked up next to him, smiling wide. It was almost creepy. "Uh... so I'll go with you, if you haven't."

"Okay," Dipper sighed, smiling back at the man, ignoring his creepiness. "Let's go!" He would have to find his solace tomorrow with Mabel.

They walked out the door and into the fresh, warm morning air. It smelled like what hope might. The forest was spread out before them, thick and inviting, like it simply wanted you to get lost in it for hours. The sunlight shone throught the leaves as they walked through it and dappled the ground in patches of light and dark, like the coat of some great beast. There had been a rainstorm a few nights before, and the forest was still soaked through and through. The drops that fell from the trees cast miniature rainbows everywhere. It was like being inside a very green prisim. Flower sprinkled the ground here and there, adding a variegation to the browns and greens. The grass beneath their feet was springy and soft. It probably would have felt like feathers, had their feet been bare.

"So... where are we going?" Will asked, gazing in awe at the beautiful sight around them.

"This way," Dipper pointed, starting into the greenwood. Will followed him, still staring at the beauty around him. They walked in silence, Dipper focused on the trail, or lack thereof, and Will focused on the world around him. After a hour or two of silence, Dipper spoke up, startling Will. "So who are you?" It was a simple question, but Dipper said it like he was scared of the answer.

"I... honestly don't really remember. All I know is my name and that I was laying on the street and I was hurt and then you saved me. It's all very blurry before that," Will said, looking at Dipper solemnly, almost looking sad.

"What about that person you had an eye on, then?" Dipper questioned, skeptical.

"I told you, they are a recent acquaintance of mine." Well, at least it lowered the potential competition. Wait! Not those thoughts.

"So you have no recollection at all? No... nothing?"

Will just shook his head sadly, golden hair flying back and forth like an angle's would. "I have a few fragments, some colors, but nothing else."

They walked on and on, the hour stretching over the late morning like melting cheese on a pizza.

"Well, this is it! The griffin's nest." Dipper threw his hands back, like he was selling a car on TV. Will perched his head on top of Dipper's and looped his arms around the boy's shoulders. Dipper blushed, his heart racing. Why did Will do these things? Things he wouldn't protest. Couldn't. But they just made his budding affections worse. It was a huge tree, maybe 2 meters in radius, that held a nest a little smaller than the tree at the top. The leaves were a tawny brown color, even though it was the beginning of summer. They shined with late morning light. It was about 10 meters tall, too.

"That's pretty amazing. Why can't you see this from the Mystery Shack?" Will asked, his eyes wide.

Dipper shrugged. "Gravity Falls is a strange place. It's why I love it," he explained, smiling at the sky. "Let's climb. I wanna get home before dinner." Will nodded an okay, then they began to climb. Will went up first, launching himself up into the tree and grabbing the lowest branches. They were thin, but hardy, and supported his weight nicely. Dipper climbed up after him, almost in the same way, but he didn't jump quite as high and had to scramble a little to reach the low branches. Dipper, naturally, watched Will more than he watched where he was climbing. Dipper watched his scrambling feet and his legs, thin and graceful despite the tricky ascent, he was hypnotized by Will's swaying hips and the lustrous hair that flowed down his back. It occurred to Dipper that this man might have been a model at one point or another. They reached the top too soon for Dipper's eyes, but much too late for the rest of his body. He felt the exhaustion in every bit of his being, and no matter how many times he climbed this tree, he would. It was magic, he knew, probably made to keep those meaning harm at bay. They climbed into the nest and Dipper flopped down on the bottom of it, heaving. Will settled next to him, looking more fluid than a mermaid in water and not at all tired.

"You okay?" Will asked Dipper, his face taking on a concerned look.

"I just tire easily when I climb this tree. Thanks." Dipper said, smiling at him. Will smiled back and snaked his arm around the kid's shoulders. There was a long silence between them, a moment of understanding that lasted a seeming eternity. It stretched betwixt their eyes, as brown and gold-yellow met. Dipper's heart raced, and Will had a calm, collected smile on his face. Dipper got the sense that Will knew everything about how he felt, but he had no idea what Will felt back at him. His eyes were a swirling void of mystery, like all the secrets of the multiverse condensed into one person's intoxicating body. Dipper felt light headed all of a sudden, and dizzy. His vision wobbled like a ship at sea. He felt floaty and odd. Suddenly, he felt his spirt jerked out of his body, yanked out with the force of a stubborn mule. It took him a second to realize what exactly it was that was happening, that he was being dragged into the mindscape and that Bipper was back. He saw what was happening, but it nearly didn't register. Then it all clicked.

"Bill Cipher! What are you doing?! Give me back my body!" He shouted. "How are you even back here, anyway?" He muttered thoughtfully.

"Well, kid, I had to fight this demon with someone's body. Can't have you go to Hell just yet, you see. Would you rather I use Will's?" He asked, gesturing over to Will's unconscious and bruised body with his head and grinning.

"No!" Dipper screamed, causing Bill to laugh maniacally.

"Well, you needn't be so overdramatic! What's he to you, anyway?" Bill asked, stilling punching. The hippogryph looked disaffected, almost amused that such a small, spindly person (as the being inside of it was a very different story) would have enough audacity to try to hurt them.

"No-nothing! It's none of your business!" Dipper cried indignantly, sounding almost like Blendin. Bipper smiled wildly, then gave the hippogryph one last punch, significantly stronger than the last few, that sent them flying over the edge of the nest and onto the ground with a sharp squawk.

"Well, that's that. I'll leave you to it, then." Bill said, as the sun began to flash. Then everything went black.

A man sat on the edge of Dipper's bed, blocking his vision past a few centimeters. He had a long tan overcoat on and his hair was grey with flecks of white. It was Ford, reading a thick book but clearly not focusing on it very well. He frowned at it like it was a interdimensional criminal who he was interrogating. He glanced over at Dipper and he smiled.

"You're awake! Are you okay, Dipper?" Grunkle Ford asked, his face alight.

"I... think so." He said, his face contorting in pain as he tried to sit up. He slumped back down onto the pillow. "Is Will okay? What happened?" He asked, doing his best to look at Ford, but it was hard.

"Well, Will... he brought you here, then said he had to go. I didn't ask where. I thanked him and he ran off. He didn't explain what happened, but you were knocked out and scratched up all over and bleeding, it was horrible. Mabel's been worried sick and Stan hasn't slept in two days." Ford explained, his smile falling. "I'm just glad he didn't leave you back in the forest."

"Oh," was all Dipper could find in him to say, letting his head fall backwards again with an unceremonious thump, so that he was staring at the ceiling. "Well, can you get Mabel and Stan? I want to talk to all of you about something important." Ford nodded and got up, straightening the blanket that he had been sitting on. He walked out unceremoniously, probably already guessing what Dipper had to tell them.

Once Ford was out of the room, Dipper pulled back the blankets covering him. He sat up, almost robotically and unwound the sterile white bandages that shielded various lengths of his chest, legs, and arms. He nearly screamed. His torso was covered by lengthy gashes, nothing like what he had been expecting from Grunkle Ford's description of what had happened. They were an angry red and the smell of ointment washed over him, overwhelming his senses. A few tears ran down his face. If Dipper had been harmed this much, what had happened to Will? Was he okay? Why did he leave? Everything would just be fine if Will was here, Dipper was sure. Everything would just work out. Dipper wiped the tears away from his eyes with a free hand as he heard the creaking of the stairs, a sure sign his family was coming. He quickly wrapped himself back up, sloppy and probably unhealthy, he knew, but he had needed to see. Those scratches would soon be scars and he wanted to know himself before anyone else. It was an odd thought, but it ran through his mind like a breeze bringing the north wind. It made him shiver with the force of winter and for one second, he could have sworn he saw the sky outside turn the lonely gray it does in winter and snow starting to fall from the sky, through the triangle window that no one had bothered to remove. It was over as soon as it began, though, and Dipper's head swung around as soon as he heard the door open.

"Dipper!" Mabel cried, running towards him, tears in her doe-like eyes. She flung her arms around his torso and he squeaked in pain.

"Mab... ugh. Still fresh wounds!" He grunted, pointing to his chest. She released him instantly, crying out a sorry.

"What do ya' mean "fresh" Dip? You've been under for a we-mph!" Ford clapped his hand over Stanly's mouth.

"He means a day or two." Ford amended, glaring at his twin.

"I've been asleep for a week?!" Ford sighed.

"Sadly."

Dipper stared at him, speechless.

"Anyway, Dip Dop, Ford said you had something important to tell us?" Mabel asked, cocking her head. She met Dipper's eyes and leveled them with her naive ones. Her gaze had the clairity of a child's, but the wisdom of a old woman.

Dipper was going to tell them about Bill. He really was. He was intending to, right up until he opened his mouth. It hung open, almost as if he was surprised, and in a sense he was. "I just wanted to tell you that I really want Chinese food right now." Dipper almost started laughing at himself for how stupid he sounded, but held his tongue. It was important that everyone believed him.

Mabel laughed. "Is that all, Dip? You made it sound as if Bill was back in town or something! Thank goodness!" Stan and Ford started laughing too.

"We can get you Chinese. What do you want?" Stan asked him, smiling.

"Umm... surprise me?" He knew he sounded uncertain, but that was that. He couldn't quite remember any dishes from the single "Chinese" place in Gravity Falls.

"Will do, bro!" Mabel nodded enthusiastically, then walked out of their room. Stan and Ford soon followed, after some muttered words about they were sure he'd get better in no time. The moment they left the room, he collapsed back down onto the bed and cried. He cried and cried and cried for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been. His eyes were bloodshot and tear-filled, but after a while, he couldn't cry anymore. It was like his eyes dried up. It was the weirdest feeling, a strange elation that he couldn't quite trace to the source, yet it seemed painfully obvious. His mind filled with photographs of Mabel, Grunkle Stan, and Grunkle Ford, all laughing. Then him, laughing too. Then there was Will. He smiled, but his eyes showed layers of sadness. Of longing. His mouth curled contently, but his yellow orbs cried 'I miss you'. Dipper shook his head, trying vainly to get the dreaded images out of his head. It didn't work.

Ford delivered the food a little bit later. He brought in a steaming hot styrofoam box of some meat covered in a reddish sauce that looked like watery, thicker blood. He could already taste the revolting spiciness. Dipper really hated Chinese food. It always tasted bland or too spicy, or watery and slippery, to him, and he hated soup, too. It was nauseating, but his stomach rumbled in sheer defiance of throwing up due to the unparalleled huger pains he was experiencing.

"Thanks, Grunkle Ford," Dipper said, trying to smile.

"No problem, Dipper," Ford answered, smiling back and walking back out. Dipper's lips fell almost before the older man was out of his room. But he had to eat. And he should tell the others about Bill. Or should he? He had obviously stopped himself before for some reason, but what was it? Dipper was deathly scared for everyone's safety, but he didn't... no, he couldn't say. His belly rumbled, reminding him that there was food in front of him that he had to eat. He blinked slowly, trying to steel his mind for the disgust that was about to come. He plunged the plastic fork into the dish and shoved it in his mouth. It tasted like spaghetti. Wait, what? Dipper opened his eyes, frowning. The foam box was full of spaghetti. That didn't make sense, because he clearly remembered ordering Chinese in a moment of fear. He poked at it with his fork, trying to tell if he was crazy or hallucinating or something. But it seemed solid and very spaghetti-ish. Dipper took another bite, and flavors explode into his mouth. It's amazing and tastes just like Greasy's. Dipper ate it faster than he'd ever eaten something before, and finished in a few minutes. Then it hits him, like a smack upside the head.

Bill did that.


	2. Because I Love You

Bill changed his Chinese food to spaghetti, because who else- no, what else, would pull such a odd trick? What else would surprised him like that? And most frankly of all, what else would have that kind of raw power to transmute? Only Bill. Well, Dipper had to eat. He just had to hope that no one came in and saw him with spaghetti instead of Chinese food. He sighed and shovled the steaming pasta into his mouth. Maybe he should be hoping that someone would come in and see him, catch him red handed. It would force him to tell the truth. Yes, he should hope for that. He tried to hope for it, he really did, but Dipper just couldn't muster up the righteousness within himself. It made him feel ugly inside, like a beast who shouldn't be allowed to live. He finnished off the pasta and put the now-empty box on his desk, which luckily was about an arm's length away. He struggled to lift his feet from under the blankets and out of his bed, but pain shot through him with the fury of a needle. He cried out a little bit, biting his lip. It drew a minute amount of blood, bright crimson compared to the pale pink lips.

"Dipper!" Mabel came rushing in, her face drained of color. "Are you okay?!" She nearly screamed.

Dipper stared at her for a second, paralyzed. "I'm fine, thanks," he answered after he had regained his senses.

"Thank goodness. I heard you scream and I thought something terrible had happened. Hey, you wanna play a game with me? I'm sure you're bored!" She asked, her previous distress gone.

"Uhh... Sure." Dipper answered, smiling. He was bored, and he felt like he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Mabel in a week! Well, technically he hadn't. "What are we playing?" He asked his twin, knowing she had something planned already.

"Super Unicorn Rainbow Puppy Boy Wars!" She answered cheerfully, not seeing the expression of dread on Dipper's face. It was a game she had made up a year or two ago, when there was a heat wave and they had to stay in the Mystery Shack for a week. It had a dismal, ever-changing set of rules and combined all of Mabel's favorite things: cuteness, unicorns, rainbows, sparkles, boys, and art. The wars part on the end was really just a ploy to make it seem more exciting at first glance. It invariably doesn't work.

"Oh, great," Dipper said sarcastically, laughing even though pain splits through his side. Mabel cheered and ran off to find the board, confidant in the knowledge that despite his harsh tone, he was happy to play with her whenever.

Dipper fell asleep to the sound of the rain pattering softly against the roof, and the ocasianial drip on the floor. It was quite and peaceful, void of dreams and nightmares both, utterly alone yet not lonely. It was the most restful thing he had done since getting to Gravity Falls.

When Dipper awoke, though, it was different story. His head pounded insesantly, and he couldn't move a muscule without becoming dizzy. He couldn't breathe through his nose, either and his eyes hurt whenever he tried to look at anything that wasn't straight ahead. In short, it sucked. He must be sick, though from what he had no clue. He had been bed bound ever since he woke up yesterday afternoon, because of his injuries, so there was little cance of infection... unless... no. It couldn't have been... well, Dipper wouldn't put it past Bill.

"Real nice, Bill!" Dipper shouted to no one, his voice crackling with congestion. Then he remebered his family didn't know Bill was back yet. He blushed at nothing and covered his mouth with a hand quickly. The floorboards outside his room creaked, giving away the precence of someone, probably Mabel, just beyond the door. "Mabel?" He asked, his voice shaking almost unnoticeabely. The door opened a crack.

"Dipper, who were you talking to?" Her eyes glimmered, trying to decide between laughing and crying.

"I..." His voice trailed off. "I was having a nightmare." The lie tasted like rot when he said it, but he couldn't seem to help the words from falling out from his lips. "Mabel, can you try and find Will for me? I need to see if he's..." His voice caught all up in his throat, and the sound wouldn't come out for a second. "Dead."

"Uh, sure bro-bro!" She looked tearfully at him, then scampered off.

Dipper sighed and stared at the ceiling. The planks of wood that made it up were plastred with Mabel's posters and artwork, nothing short of chaotic. It was beautiful though, in an odd sort of way. The kind of compelling a tornado is, the way it draws you to it, but at the same time you're running away as fast as you can. Hypnotizing.

Dipper falls asleep again, listening to the faint chatter that wafts upstairs to his kingdom from the gift shop. He feels a little more okay than when he woke up, a little less 'kill me now' and a little more 'I'll survive'. It would have been a good feeling, if Will had been there. His chest ached for Will and his mind seethed with possibillities of what might have been. Possibillities of the future, of the time when Will might kiss him, when he might kiss Will, when they might get married, when they would wake up holding each other because there was nothing better in the world to do. He missed Will.

He didn't dream, but there was a tint to his rest, a soft rosey color. A feeling of warmth and the smell of a vanilla candle. It was nice in the way that sitting in bed on a cold day under piles of blankets reading and listening to your favorite music was, a comforting kind of nice.

"Dipper. Dippppppper!" Mabel's entergetic voice rose him from his deep sleep, her face in his. "Dipper! I kiddnapped Will!" His mind barely registered the sentance, then with a jolt of undertanding, his eyes shot open. He sat up quickly, groaning a little.

"What? You kiddnapped him?" He asked, still trying to process what he had heard.

"Well, not quite. I just know where he lives, sleeps, and eats, and what times he does all that."

"So you stalked him?" She nods earnestly. "That was fast. Thank you so much, Mabes."

"No problem, Sir Dippingsauce. Squire Mabel Syrup is at your service," she saluted him. "Can you get out of bed, or should I actually kiddnap him?"

"I'll try walking. I'm sure I can get to town, at least," Dipper says, then slowly scoots out to the edge of his bed. He carefully places one foot on the ground, then the other. He puts his weight on them tenderly, and when he doesn't fall down, more confidantly.

"Go Dipper!" Mabel cheers, pumping her fists.

"Can you, uh, leave so I can get dressed?" Mabel scampers out of the room.

He pulls on his classic orange shirt, navy vest, biege shorts, and navy shoes, then stares at himself in the mirror. He looks... lackluster. When he sees Will, he needs to look striking. Handsome. Put together, at least.

He digs through his and Mabel's closet, looking for anything a least a little more showy. There is a black t-shirt, some loose jeans that would be way too hot for the middle of summer, a pair of cowboy boots, a sweater vest, a button down shirt, a revered costume from the time when Bipper was in Mabel's puppet show, a pair of grey shorts, a sari, a cowboy hat, and some biege cargo shorts, not unlike the ones he had on. It was misfit collection, but he thought he could make something of it. Hopefully.

After about a half hour of expirementation, Dipper came out of their room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen, were Mabel awaited. She stood against the counter, throwing pebbels on top of the refrigerator.

"Finally! Let's... go?" She looked at him oddly, her right eye twitching. "What happened to my bro?!" Alarmed, but at the same time grinning.

"I wanted to change my style a little bit... you know?" He answered her, hoping she didn't ask the question he knew she would.

"For Will?" His heart dropped.

"No, nuh-uh, never, nope! I just wanted something different!" His face twitched. She shrugged.

"Whatever you wanna tell yourself, Dipstick."

And then they were off, to find the man Dipper had a crush on, an impossible, crazy, weird, inappropriate, unforgivable crush. It was the story of Tantalus told in slow motion and with a time bomb.

After an hour or two of walking, Dipper's wounds were starting to hurt again. Not like the sharp stabbing of before, but a dull ache. It was so much worse. They had reached town about 15 minutes ago, and Mabel was leading him to the same allyway that he first found Will in. It was slightly unnerving, thinking back to that so very odd day, but Dipper strood on, confident in a way that was not quite like him. Not like him at all, in fact.

"We're here, Dips!" Mabel shouted after about ten more minutes. Dipper groaned joyfully. There was door he hadn't noticed before, set into the left wall of the ally. She pushed open the door for him and held it while he stumbled inside. It was a really bad idea to walk here, but he had to see Will. He just really had to. It was a drive within him, a force not unlike gravity. Or what the gravity between them would have been if Dipper was a speck of dust and Will was Alpha Centari.

It was a small shop, something like the Mystery Shack's gift shop, but cozier. The floor was a dark, hard wood and the walls were painted a deep, wine red. Dipper looked around, the counter barely hidden from veiw by stacks of books and shelves that were filled with various tarot decks, crystal balls, amulets and other things of the sort. He quickly made his way around the blockade and stopped in his tracks.

Will sat behind the counter, slouched in a poofy armchair and reading a thick book. The title looked to be in French, maybe something about alchemy. Dipper stood there meekly for a minute, before gaining the confidance to speak up.

"Uhh, Will?" His voice shook and his head felt heavy, weighted towards the ground, just as Newton intended.

Will's eyes widend and he looked up, his head a blur. His cheeks turned tomatoe red and he smiled, all his teeth showing. "Dipper? Why are you here?"

Dipper didn't even think about answering his question. "Why aren't you at the Mystery Shack, Will?" His voice cracked and his eyes became blurry with water, but he forged ahead. "Why aren't you with me? Why did you leave me alone? Why couldn't you have at least told me anything?!" At the end he was sobbing quite a bit more than he meant to and he actually felt pretty bad. His head felt heavy, and his eyes hurt.

"Because I love you, Dipper." Will instantly clapsed his hands over his mouth. His face turned a brilliant red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." But Dipper had stopped crying, he was staring at Will, astonished yet smiling. It looked partially crazy, twitching on the ends, but happy none the less.

"You... you love me!" Dipper inched closer to Will, the counter holding him back.

"I tend to. But, Dip, I'm much too old for you. You wouldn't want me. Believe me, I'm not exactly what I seem..." Will trailed off as Dipper walked around the counter, pushing the little half-door into the employees' area open. He started again. "Dipper, don't. I'm crazy, and not the fun kind. I'm ill, dangerous, and uncontrolable. It's a bad idea to even think about falling for me," Will's arguments got weaker the closer Dipper got. By the time he was all the way over Will's voice had completely stopped.

"I. Don't. Care."


	3. The Origins Of The Heart

Will was too close to Dipper. Mabel was nowhere in sight. Dipper was too close to Will. He should walk away. He should let his heart beat like it used to, not this sporadic pace that left him nearly breathless with a excited feeling he couldn't quite figure out. Will was going on about how he was terrible, yada yada yada. Dipper didn't care, he was too close. Too close to come back from the brink of touching Will, without the withdrawal symptoms of sitting in his frozen room for days on end, eating nothing and thinking too hard about what could have been. He had to take the plunge. The icy cold, foolish, plunge.

"I. Don't. Care," Dipper announced sadly to Will and pulled at his cotton shirt collar. Will didn't budge, his marvelous eyes lifted to the pristine ceiling.

"No, you don't understand. I need to leave this place. You need to leave this shop." Will tried to reason with him, still not seeing Dipper, his cheeks a shade of crimson Dipper felt he had never quite seen before.

Dipper said nothing but quick breaths, not really paying attention. It was lost on him who Will was and what he had done. He tugged on Will's collar again, harder this time. Will's head moved slightly, his head tilting down before jerking back up.

"Mason!" Will shouted, but it didn't register. "Mason, listen to me. I'm a demon. A demon just told you he loves you and the only thing you can do is try and kiss him! Red flags, Pine Tree!" Nothing was really making sense anymore. They were all words, and words usually meant something, but today was special. The sounds were nonsense. Dipper tugged harder. Will's face came down this time, but he pulled back up quicker than before. Will's lips moved with an alarming tensity, but Dipper couldn't hear what he was saying. Dipper didn't really want to. Will gave him the harshest glance, a warning that Dipper paid no heed. For better or for worse, he assumed he'd find out. Assumptions are usually the death of us all, especially the foolhardy bachelors.

Dipper tugged again, barely at all, and Will bent down voluntarily.

"Mmm..." Dipper moaned softly as Will kissed him, his cheeks flushed ruby. Will curled his nimble hands around Dipper's small back and smiled, kissing him on the lips again. Dipper was over the moon, strung out like a stoner. Their kiss was deep and sweet, just the kind of kiss you expect from your first kiss, the kind that tends to shatter the happiness of doing anything other than kissing. They were lying on the floor of a back room in the small shop that Will worked, a rather large room for the purposes it seemed to be used for. It had a set of plastic folding chair and a table with a deck of cards on it in one corner, next to that another exit. The floor was this nice hard wood that looked like cherry. Dipper wanted to stop time here and never leave, but luckily Mabel had already made that mistake. Dipper's mind couldn't process anything but Will, Will, Will. Mabel was still gone, somehow unnoticed.

"Pine Tree, we should stop this. You shoul-oooh" Will stopped suddenly as Dipper kissed him. His hands crawled up and down Dipper's miniature back and neck, uninhibited by morals. Dipper pulled away, and Will whimpered. "Get back to your sister. We have some talking to do, too, before this can keep going."

"Humph. I don't want to, I want to stay here," Dipper answered sulkily.

"Why am I, Bill freaking Cipher, the voice of reason?" Will's rhetorical question was met with a stunned silence, the air in the room becoming stony. Dipper's eyes bored holes in Will's face, which was altogether too close now. Suddenly the room felt stuffy, clastrophobic, and much too hot.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice filled with a cold sort of fear.

"I am Bill Cipher. I told you we have things to talk about," Bill said just as coldly, his eyes flashing bright red.

Dipper took a deep breath, buying himself time to think. He would've closed his eyes, but he didn't quite feel safe anymore. His mind filled with the frozen terror that had permeated his voice before, but he forced himself to think calmly.

"Okay, Will- uh... no, Cipher, let's talk," Dipper heard himself say, as if he was outside of his body, in the Mindscape all over again. "Tell me what's going on."

Bill took a disturbingly deep breath. "So, really, it all started when you guys actually defeated me and such. There was the whole Weirdmaggedon deal that I made, but you and your meatbags got me. And then, well, right before I was about to perish, I made a split second decision. Not very smart, but I'm forever thankful I did. I summoned the power of the Axolotl. It took me back, centuries in time, and I've been doing what I think is what's called community service, for your dimension. It's actually been a bit of a blast, but there was a special time I asked the Axolotl for, which is now. I wanted... well, I wanted to make it up to you. I haven't lied about anything other than having amnesia, I swear! And I needed to do at least another centuries worth of work. So... that's why I'm here," Bill said all of this very fast, his cheeks redder than ever and his eyes on the ground. If Dipper was admitting anything to himself at the time, which he wasn't, he would've thought that Bill was actually very adorable at this particular moment.

"You didn't lie about anything? Not a word?" Dipper asked instead, looking fairly panicked, his heart beating all too fast for reasons other than fear of being decimated.

"Not a word, I pro-mise." Bill navigated around the word like he was unfamilair with it, which wouldn't be too surprising.

"Oh my-"

"Who the Hell is messin' with Dipper?!" A very familiar voice shouted from behind the thankfully closed door. Bill stood up like he had been shocked and gestured to the chairs which they both quickly moved to.

"Stan, nobody's messing with me! Me and uh... Will are just talking!" Dipper called out to the disembodied voice. Bill shot Dipper a thankful glance as Stan opened the door to find them peacefully sitting at a table, nothing seeming amiss.

"But Mabel said that she heard... Whatever," Stan stopped, shook his head and walked out. Dipper let out a breath.

"Where is Mabel?" Dipper asked the air around him, not really expecting an answer. Bill had his eyes closed and was muttering under his breath.

"She's... at Greasy's," Bill answered him, opening his eyes. "Don't worry." Bill rested his hand on Dipper's shoulder, smiling oddly.

"I don't trust you," Dipper hissed through narrow eyes, resembling a snake. He shook the man's comforting hand off, and Bill's eyes glowed red.

"Why's that, Pine Tree?" Bill asked softly, his silky voice quiet yet somehow thunderous. Dipper froze, his breath quick.

"Because... you're Bill Cipher, dream demon, the thing I should fear, angry isosceles triangle, dorito monster, and so on. I should be so scared right now. I shouldn't trust you enough to tell you how little I trust you. I shouldn't love you so much. That's what scares me, and that's why I don't trust you," Dipper explained, his espresso brown eyes not meeting Bill's, thus he stared at the floor as if it could help him out of this one. It couldn't.

Even at this confession of love for Bill, he stared at Dipper like he was the only thing that could truly disgust Bill. It was horrifying and at the same time somehow utterly charming. Bill's eyes still shone crimson, the color of blood, and were unflinching in their scanning of Dipper's frightened face, which looked especially small in the grandeur of Bill Cipher himself.

"Trust me," Bill said, his words seeming magical. " _Croyez-moi_ , Pine Tree!" He cried out these words like they were his gospel, like it would truly cause him pain if Dipper didn't comply. Dipper didn't want to trust Bill. He didn't want to confide things in him, but who else did he have? There was Ford, Mabel, and Stan, sure, but they didn't understand anything. They didn't get love or faith or trust. Dipper felt a great heaving within himself, a split between the parts of him that trusted Bill and the parts that didn't.

"I don't want to, Bill. I really don't. But I do! It's like..." Dipper's voice trailed off and his hands were left motioning in the air, all alone. "I don't understand," he whimpered solemnly, his eyes closing to fend off tears of frustration. Bill stood suddenly, shaking his head. He laughed a dry laugh, something meant for funeral pyres of your worst enemy rather than lovers' secret rendezvous. Dipper looked up at him, startled, his earthy eyes filled with clear, salty drops. "What is it?" He asked, his voice weak.

"Do you think I trust you?" Bill asked him, his voice solid.

"Uhhh..." Dipper looked at him oddly. "I guess I've never thought about it before."

"Well, what do you think?"

"Yes?"

"I do. I trust you with every little part of me I've got."

"Why?"

"Because you are the essence of what I would never want to be, but what I need. You are supplementary to me, someone I need to feel whole on the inside. It's strange, and in your world, highly pedophillic, but I can wait for a year or two. I just... I need you like humans need water." As Bill said this, his eyes faded from crimson to a more orangey, autumn sunset color. In the context of the moment, it seemed almost sad, but not quite right.

Dipper smiled at him softly. For some reason, maybe some kind of spell or maybe it just felt right, Dipper knew this was genuine. "Okay, Bill. I can believe that, even if it means the end of me. I guess I trust you about some things more than others." His eyes seemed to warm after he said this, like snow melting in late spring after a much too long winter. Bill smiled too, his eyes turning completely back to their original stunning, rich gold.

"These are the moments I live for now," Bill said simply, still grinning like an idiot. It wasn't even his creepy, I'm-a-serial-killer grin. It was just happy.

"I want to spend more time with you, but I've got to go make sure Mabel isn't doing anything too Mabel-y," Dipper explained, his smile fading into a content sadness. He stood up and so did Bill, who quickly walked over, bent down, brushed aside the boy's unsightly bangs, and kissed Dipper's birthmark. Dipper blushed madly, his mouth hanging open in twin surprise.

"One more question, can I still crash with your family at the Mystery Shack? I've got nowhere to stay..." Bill seemed almost embarrassed about this fact, and knowing him he had forgotten humans used currency.

"Sure, but we'll have a bit of explaining to do. Is that okay?" Bill nodded, then hugged Dipper.

"Thank you so much," Bill murmured into Dipper's head and sighed, releasing him.

"I'm glad to help you, Bill, you can come by after 6:00 sometime," Dipper told him, then walked out of the little back room, out of the shop, and off to find Mabel. He'd check Greasy's first, but there was good chance she was no longer there. As he walked, he laughed at himself. "I really never thought I'd be saying those words," he announced to no one in particular.

Dipper walked and walked for hour upon sweltering hour, finally finding Mabel closer to where he started than he would've liked. She was at Skull Fracture, the local hard-core biker joint, talking to some of the men there. It was pretty run down place, with cracked bricks and peeling posters of naked women and men hanging on the walls. There was a karaoke machine in one corner with a small stage for the unfortunate singer to stand on. The place was mostly lit by flickering neon beer advertisements and a few semi-broken floor lamps. It would've scared Dipper more if there hadn't been a beacon of hope in the middle of the place, singing happily along to Disco Girl and giving out free hugs.

"Well, yeah! You've just gotta use your sweet moves on those sweet ladies and you'll get 'em in no time! You go girl!" Mabel cheered as Tats walked away from her, swaggering confidently (or drunkenly, it was hard to tell) to go tell the person of his dreams that they were, indeed, of his dreams. The group of other men around her cheered too, chanting Tats name as he walked out of the building.

"Mabel! Thank goodness I've finally found you! It's almost time to come home for dinner. We were out all day, can you believe that?" Dipper walked up next to her, talking.

"Oh, hey Dip! How'd your date go?" She asked, eliciting a blush out of her twin.

"It wasn't a date! We just had to talk." Dipper felt horrible lying to her, but it was the only legal sounding thing he could say. Even Mabel (probably) wouldn't actually be a fan of his new paramour.

"For hours on end, sure. Just keep telling yourself that."

"It's true!"

Mabel just rolled her eyes, announced to her fans she had to go now, and left with Dipper. They all booed her on the way out, but she didn't really seem to care. She flipped her hair on the way out, silencing everyone. The way she held herself and the power she seemed to hold was like witnessing the actions of a goddess.

They got back to the Mystery Shack just in time for supper without either of the Stans seeming to have noted their absence. It was weird, but Dipper was silently thankful. It would've been a mess to explain, especially with Bill coming back later. They ate dinner mostly in silence, nobody really seeming to want to say anything. Dipper knew he should tell them that 'Will' was coming back and staying with them more, but he just couldn't seem to muster up the energy to speak, much less explain anything before he had to. They finished dinner quickly, and it wasn't quite six pm yet, so Dipper decided to sit down and read a classic he had been meaning to start, A Holiday Song by Charlie Rooster. He read for about an hour, completely engrossed in the story of how Touchy learned the true meaning of why the policeman had given his child an anatomically correct doll. It was a little boring for Dipper, but he supposed that was part of the fun of classics. Ford was sitting in living room with him, reading the very same book on quantum mechanics that he was when Dipper had first woken up from his injury. Ford looked much more focused now, and he was smiling, which was always a good sign when he was reading. It meant he had found a mistake he would write a letter to the author about.

The doorbell rang a little later and Dipper shot up from his seat, drawing a surprised glance from Ford. He didn't stop to talk about why exactly the chime was this important, or why he had been so very excited to answer the door, something he was naturally reluctant to do, he just ran to the door. Once he got there, he flung open the door with more enthusiasm than Mabel at their birthday parties. A handsome figure, Bill, stood behind the door, looking rather surprised at the show that Dipper had performed.

"Aww, Pine Tree, I'm honoured. You're usually not very excited for guests," Bill whispered in his ear, smirking. Dipper glared at him.

"Hey, everyone, look who's back!" Dipper shouted at the top of his lungs, in Bill's ear. Bill cringed.

"Will? Oh, what a huge, unexpected surprise!" Mabel said as she walked in, grinning.

"Oh, Will. I guess I kind of expected you back sometime soon," Ford said, pushing at his glasses calmly.

"Yeah, it's pretty unsurprising!" Stanly shouted from the kitchen. Dipper let out a silent breath, and tried to calm down. His familys' eyes were all glassy, staring at nothing in particular. It clicked.

"Bill, what did you do?" Dipper asked, his voice soft.

"I didn't do anything, I mean this is one of my powers but I would never..." Dipper glared at Bill. "Okay, fine, I may have made them all a little more oblivious because you seemed worried about me coming back and I wanted to help ease the transition." Bill grinned at him with barely contained laughter, which would've been undoubtedly maniacal. "Come on, PT! It'll only last an hour or two!" Bill was giggling now. Dipper's mind worked at a furious rate, trying to decide what they could do in a little over an hour. Get Bill completely caught up on social norms that he needed to know? That would take too long. Get Bill settled into the Mystery Shack? Probably. Make out with him? Yes, but really, Dipper's mind? Then it was decided. They'd do what Bill probabaly was thinking when he did this. Make Bill slightly less of a mess and get him set up in the Mystery Shack.

"Okay Bill. Okay, slow breaths. Let's get you into the attic." Dipper said, almost hyperventilating. Almost.

"Okay!" Bill nodded happily.

They walked up to the attic, a room one door down from Mabel's and Dipper's. It was a pretty bare room, made solely of wood planks and a small chest that sat in the left hand corner. Bill looked around oddly, as if he had never been in this room before, which surprised Dipper a little bit, as Bill tended to know more than most.

"What kind of room do you want? I'm sure Mabel can whip you up anything you want, and we have a lot of random junk around here anyway."

"I want... a lot of yellow and gold and black and cobalt blue and triangles!" For some reason, Dipper wasn't at all surprised by this answer.

"Okay, do you know where Ford would keep that kind of thing?" Dipper asked him, and Bill nodded.

"I'll go get it, you stay weird." And then Bill just wandered off, and Dipper was left to 'stay weird.' Dipper sat down near the door to Bill's room, resting his back against the wall. Only now was he realizing just how much pain he was in. His torso felt like it was on fire, which was probably a really bad sign. With all the terror, euphoria, and panic that had happened throughout the day, and more that was sure to come in the advancing summer, Dipper hadn't been willing to feel all the anguish this wound had actually been causing him. He groaned slightly in pain, thinking about how much he would love it if this was just not something that had happened. Then again, if this hadn't happened, he assumed much of his life would be different. Perhaps Bill would've been gone forever, out of sight, out of mind. Forever. Dipper shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. It was going to a wild summer, he knew already. Mayhaps even crazier than their first summer, but that would be shooting pretty high. He'd settle on second most exciting. It was a good goal.

"Pine Tree! I'm back! Did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me!" Bill showed up behind him with several armloads of stuff floating behind him, like leaves on the wind.

"I missed you," Dipper said, standing with minor trouble. But Bill noticed, anyway.

"Oh, right. You hurt yourself. I'm just gonna fix that up for you." He waved his hands and whispered something magical-sounding under his breath. Then he walked over to Dipper. "Don't freak out, okay." He said to Dipper, and it would've been a question, if it were asked by anyone other than Bill Cipher. He lifted up Dipper's shirt, revealing the thick web of scars that were still an angry red. Dipper blushed.

"Uh, Bill, I thought we were waiting?" Bill didn't respond, just took a very deep, very dramatic breath, and kissed Dipper's injury. Dipper felt himself weighed down a little bit more than usual. Bill let go of his shirt, covering the scars once again. "What was that for?" Dipper asked him, once again getting no response out of his lover. Then, all of a sudden, Dipper felt a flowing warmth run through him, from the points where Bill had kissed him all the way to the tips of his fingers and on and on. He swooned a little, feeling strangely faint.

"The after effects only last a little while," He heard Bill say, his vision blurring. "I'll get to work on this room. Just sit for now," Bill added, guiding Dipper to the ground.

Dipper watched for what felt like hours. Bill layed out a shining, golden rug, in the shape of a triangle in the middle of the floor. It matched the color of his hair. He dragged in an old, off white mattress. It had minimal water stains on it, turning the eggshell more of a pale yellow, which was slightly sickening to look at. He put a small black blanket on it, something he probably wouldn't need in the middle of summer heat and humidity, but maybe he got cold easily. Dipper watched as Bill teleported a desk inside the room, along with stacks and stack of books, the number somewhere near one hundred. Bill had been talking to him this whole time, chattering away about spells or humans or other interesting things, but Dipper couldn't seem to recall much of what he had actually said. The room almost seemed to turn around him, like one of those spinning restaurants at the top of skyscrapers. He watched in a daze as Bill sat down next to him, draping his long arm over Dipper's small shoulders and pulling him into a tight, somewhat suffocating hug. They sat like that for a bit, Bill seeming to want to wait in silence for the boy to recover. Dipper found himself dancing closer and closer to the sweet void of deep sleep, and he found himself wanting to fall into that void. He rested his head against Bill's warm chest until he could barely think straight, and so he surrendered.


	4. Bill Why Is There Ketchup On That Knife?

**A/N: Okay guys, this took awhile, and I'm sorry. Also, this chapter is... ugh. Messy. There's some self harm and a lot of gore, so anyone who doesn't want to read this can skip to the end of the chapter and I'll just give a summary. Thanks for reading! Also it's tiny I'm sorry don't kill me.**

Dipper felt warm, very very warm. It was the kind of warmth that isn't quite a summer's day, but more of a summer evening. The kind with fireflies and fireworks, and running around the backyard with your sister's best friend daring them to kiss you. He opened his eyes slowly, like a puppy awaking from a very long midday nap, and yawned. He didn't move though, because he really didn't want to. He was warm, but not badly so, and he was comfortable. It was only a matter of time until he realized what exactly was making him so warm and comfortable. But, it was just that. Time spent. So he fell back asleep, thinking of what he wanted to do with Bill when he woke up. He didn't see that he was actually sitting on Bill's lap. He was in shorts and a white t-shirt that was going to be stained at the end of this, stained Bill's third favorite color. The color of his own, crimson, ruby, and pure, blood. It came straight from his own favorite place to, his slender, human-ish arms. He sat with Dipper laying on his lap, nearly helpless, a butter knife in his hands, and cut. He sliced his arms until there was no more skin to touch, until the boy under him was bathed om his lover's pure blood, until it was spilling off the boy and onto the floor. Bill loved the pain it wrought upon himself, and the sight of the blood just made him want more. He knew his Pine Tree wouldn't wake up for a while longer, at least not with the spell Bill put on him, and so he kept cutting, slicing until his arms didn't feel like arms anymore. It went on for hours, stretching out across the afternoon like hot cheese on pizza. His blood glittered in the candle light, like it was more magic than biochemical.

Dipper rolled over, and yawned, feeling the sleepiness wear off of him as quickly as it had started. He found himself curled up, almost like a cat in a beam of sunshine, on Bill. But he could feel that something was wrong, as he was laying on something oddly sticky and hard. He opened his eyes slowly, a little scared that maybe he wasn't sitting on Bill after all, that maybe while he was out something horrid had happened. But he saw quickly that it was really just Bill. But... red. There was... ketchup?

"Bill, why is there ketchup all over you and that knife?" Dipper asked sleepily, feeling odd about this whole thing.

"What ketchup? Oh, that's blood Pine Tree," he said, so calmly, so matter-of-factly that it almost didn't register what he was saying.

"Blood...?" Dipper questioned, still groggy. "Oh, shit that's your blood! Bill, what happened?!" He asked, hyperventilating, panicking because who wouldn't if there lover was cover in their own bodily fluids?

"I happened, Pine Tree!" Bill shouted happily, grinning in that slightly creepy way with all of his teeth. "I'm cutting myself up with a butter knife because that is one of the most painful things I could think to do while still being with you, and as I'm sure you know pain is the only thing that brings me joy!" He sounded so utterly happy, you might think he was talking about something more innocuous than self harm.

"Oh..." Dipper sighed, looking greenish. "Bill, that could kill you."

"Nah, I'm not completely human, remember!"

"Please, Bill, don't..." Dipper's eyes watered up and his face screwed up, as if he was in pain. "Don't do that to yourself. It causes me the bad kind of pain to see you do that."

"I'm sorry, but Pine Tree, what else can I do?" He asked, his eyes wide and his voice soft, almost seeming innocent. Almost.

"I dunno Bill, but please..." Dipper breathed unsteadily.

"No," Bill said, calmer than should have been possible. Dipper screamed as Bill raised the knife again to himself, this time in a different area, his face. His eyes looked like he was close to doing something much worse than mere slices against the skin. He smiled softly, almost looking gentle. "Calm down Pine Tree," he said, laughing like it was all some evil joke played on Dipper, but at the same time Dipper knew. There was no way it was. He raised the knife to the very thin edge of his cheek, threatening his Pine Tree in a way. Pine Tree moaned, and heaved for breath. "You see, Pine Tree, there's a reason for all of this."

There was a crash of thunder outside. Then the rain started, a slight patter on the roof they could hear clearly.

"How long have we been up here?" Dipper asked to the body he sat on, still, because he couldn't seem to muster the courage to wipe the blood off and get up.

"Oh, a few hours at least. Not long." Bill sighed, smiling still. He looked at Dipper, brushing the boy's matted brown hair out of his face. The candle flickered a little bit in the invisible breeze. Dipper sighed a little, remembering why he felt such strong feelings for Bill in the first place, the tiny touches to the feverish make outs, whatever it was about that insanity, that's what made him fall in love with a mad man. Bill was even nice enough to try and protect him.

"Why isn't there a window in this room?" Dipper asked, knowing it was marginally off the topic of Bill and his friend the knife, but he was hoping to distract his lover so that maybe Bill wouldn't find it so very entertaining to stab himself.

"Because when I helped Sixer design this shack, he wanted a more private room. This was it. My favorite room in the whole shack, really." There was a hint of nostalgia in Bill's eyes as he talked, looking around the room like it was some kind of museum. He snapped out of it quickly, though, almost disappointingly so.

"That's sweet, Bill," Dipper said, his eyes softening, and feeling an pulse of warmth in Bill's direction. "I have something you could do instead of cut yourself, Bill," Dipper said, almost sleepily, trying to peak the man's interests.

"What could be so interesting, Pine-y?" He sing-songed, smiling lazily down at his special tree.

"This," Dipper said, almost smirking. He leaned up to Bill and kissed him softly on the lips, then pulled away, grinning. But Bill just looked indescribably sad, like something about that kiss had reminded him of something from too long ago, from his long backstory.

"Pine Tree..." he sighed. "You agreed to this," he said, gesturing to his body.

"I know, I was there, but it's so hard to watch you do this to yourself..." Dipper looked at the ground.

"I know, Pine Tree. That's half the fun!" Bill giggled.

Dipper looked momentarily horrified, then he looked back down at himself and sighed. "Is there anything else we could do that's more fun?"

Bill grinned like the Cheshire Cat, his eyes sparkly and bright. "I have a few ideas..."

A day had passed peacefully since that conversation. Dipper had been vaguely wondering what Bill had been thinking of for fun, but it had slipped to the back of his mind in the usual hard work and crazy adventures they had every few days over the summer. Mabel had been distracting him sufficiently, anyway. That night, Dipper had just slipped into his bed, all nice and ready to go to sleep. He wasn't tired, but he also wasn't very energetic. Certainly not enough for what was about to happen.

He had just fallen into the void of sleep, the light that calmed him, when he heard a distinct ripping noise. It was strange, but he wasn't exactly unaccustomed to hear the noise at random points in time, since he lived with Mabel. He just rolled over, groaning. Then he realized he was not rolling over on the soft surface of his bed, but rather in something much colder and lighter. His eyes flew open, and he gasped. But the sound came out intangible and loose, untethered to this mortal realm, as his mind had become. He was in the Mindscape. His body rolled over, back to where Dipper could see himself, and the eyes were bright yellow. An insidious grin gathered like a thunder storm on his own face and Bipper laughed.

"You should see your face right now, Piney!" Bipper choked out, in between bouts of giggles.

"You're gonna wake up Mabel, Bill! Why are doing this?"

"For fun, a distraction, my evergreen!" Of course. It makes so much sense...

"What are you going to do to my body?"

"You'll see," Bipper said calmly, and a shiver ran through Dipper's spine. Bipper slowly crept out of Dipper's bed, his footsteps barely making any noise. He walked out into the hallway, opening their door silently. He snuck down the stairs, into the lobby, and out the front door. This was getting somewhat worrying. He walked openly into the forest, the cold breeze blowing the branches of the trees in a ominous way, like a horror movie. Dipper floated out behind him, following himself closely, not worried about how odd they would look because no one could see him. It was a nice feeling in some ways, but in others it was just strange. A simple disguise.

They walked (or floated, in Dipper's case) for hours upon hours. By the time Bipper stopped, the sun was nearly up. They passed by a lot of different landmarks in the Gravity Falls Forest, but nothing that stood out to Dipper much. In fact, Dipper couldn't recall where exactly they were, despite his now near perfect map of the forest. It was a pretty view though, so he decided to push his worries aside for the time being. Always a good, healthy decision, especially around Bill freaking Cipher.

"Bill, everyone will be worried when the two of us aren't at the shack. Mabel could even be up by now. She wakes up crazy early, I'm sure you know this," Dipper said softly, trying to appeal to the demon's common sense. Dipper had forgotten, somehow, that Bill didn't have any.

"Who cares? Worrying is her problem. Just wait here for a second, and you'll see why I brought you here."

Dipper face-palmed and sighed. He waited. He thought about Bill. He looked in front of him from time to time, glancing idlely at the clearing in front of them. It was pretty, for sure, but there was nothing particularly...

"Oh my goodness, Bill..." Dipper basically sighed, his eyes glued to the sight in front of him. "I love it."

 **A/N: Okay, so here's what happened: Basically, Bill was cutting himself for fun. Dipper really couldn't stand to see him like that, understandably, so Dipper was trying to come up for other things for Bill to do to entertain himself. So Bill was like, okay, I'll stop if I can do this thing. But Bill didn't tell Dipper that the "thing" was becoming the glorious Bipper and taking Dipper's body and essence to go see this amazing thing. You don't know what the thing is yet.**


	5. Hawkoctopus

"Bill, I love it..." Dipper breathed, smiling. Bipper grinned, blushing.

"I hoped you would."

In front of them was a large clearing just barely painted by the sunrise, filled with a rainbow assortment of wildflowers, with medium sized rocks scattered around the clearing, mossy and unseen for ages. It was a truly beautiful sight. But that wasn't what Bill had come for, nor what Dipper was looking at. That was the Hawkoctopus perched peacefully on a rock in front of them.

"I've only seen these in the Journals, Bill! Thank you!" Dipper swooped down and tried to hug Bipper, but he just fell right through his body. "I forgot that would happen," Dipper explained to Bill, blushing hotly. "Can you take notes on it for me? Since I can't exactly hold stuff..." Bipper nodded. "Thank you. Why did you need to take my body to do this anyway?"

"That's for later, Pine Tree," Bill said, pausing his taking of notes for a minute to grin creepily at Dipper.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just do that, and go on loving you right now."

They stood (or floated) there for a while more, until the sun was basically all the way up. Dipper yawned once or twice, and Bill, of course, made fun of his lack of stamina. Dipper just thought it was strange that he was still yawning, meanwhile Bipper showed no signs of exhaustion, despite having been up for the whole night. The oddities of Gravity Falls, Dipper guessed.

"This is amazing Bill... But I think we should go back home now, because I swear, someone's going to get really worried when both of us are gone." Bipper sighed, pouting.

"Fine Pine Tree... but I get to stay in your body a little longer," Bill said, having quite the smirk on his face.

Dipper nodded. "Deal," he said, giggling. Sleep depvrivation does ugly things to everyone's sense of humor, don't you judge. They walked back, Dipper floating slightly behind Bill, who knew the way home better than Dipper. They didn't talk a whole lot, but various thoughts ran through Dipper's mind. Things that were mostly completely unrelated to anything that was going on in the current world. Leftovers from past summers, thoughts of the end of this summer and his and Mabel's birthday, memories of past birthdays. Which brought him to the semi-obvious conclusion.

"Bill, what will happen at the end of the summer?" Dipper asked him, a little worried about this part. "You still can't leave Gravity Falls, can you?" Bill shook his head.

"I'll just have to kidnap you, or you could just stay here. Get Shooting Star to stay too! It'd be a regular Pines family club around here!" He threw his hands up, like a true showman.

"I can't do that, Bill. I have to go back to Piedmont, because that's where my school is and I have friends there, and family, and all my life." Bill sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Humans and your stupid customs. You should just become immortal with me!"

Dipper stared at Bill, his eyes wide. "You can do that?"

"I know a guy," Bill shrugged. Dipper laughed, only considering the idea in an alternate dimension. They walked the rest of the way home in a contented silence, Bill thinking about his plans for the future, and Dipper thinking of Mabel.

They got back to the shack soon enough for breakfast, and snuck in without anyone seeing Bipper. The table was set for all four of them, and the mourning light poured through the windows like honey.

"Bill, give me my body back now! Mabel'll be suspicious."

"Nah, I think not, Pine Tree. I like your view of the world, and darling," Bill turned to face Dipper and cupped his cheek with his own hand. "It'll be awhile. I've not felt this way about someone in nearly forty years, and I have some wonderful things planned for us later..." Bill trailed off as Grunkle Stan entered the room, grumbling about something or other. Dipper blushed, but decided to stay quiet. It would be better if the Grunkles didn't find out that Bill was the man they had let into their house and that he was being essentially pedophillic with Dipper. Dipper floated up to the ceiling, so he wouldn't be in the way and watched the interaction.

"Hey Fez, how you doin' to-day?" Bipper smiled. With his gums.

"Aw, Dipper, you okay? You never ask me how I am." Stan snorted. "It's funny, because I'm dense!"

Bipper chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, very funny." He sat down at the table, snorting to himself. Mabel walked in then, smiling and humming to herself, twirling around in circles.

"Yo, Sir dippingsauce! What is up?! You weren't in our room when I woke up, and suddenly you're down here?" Dipper gasped. He had forgotten he was supposed to be in the same room as his deceptively perseptive sis.

"Come on, Mabes, I get up early sometimes too." Bipper said, chuckling and lightly slugging her arm when she passed him. Mabel rolled her eyes. Everything seemed to be going fine, and Dipper let out a breath.

They all ate breakfast together, Ford coming in a little later, once Bipper had already left. The day passed mostly without incident, but Dipper did worry quite a bit about what Bill had said right before Stan came into the kitchen. They sat alone together, Bipper investigating his left behind body. it occurred to Dipper that the other members of his family would be pretty confused as they haven't seen "Will" in nearly a day, but he hoped they wouldn't get suspicious. He watched Bipper poke his body in various places, one of them being the very down low area. The body didn't react. Bipper shook his head and laughed.

"Human bodies are so strange." Dipper found himself smiling as Bill spoke, a warmth spreading to his heart as much as it could, being caught in the Mindscape. He remembered exactly why he had made this agreement with Bill: It was all for this feeling, the kind that made you more alive, more perfect, more yourself, yet at the same time had the power to completely destroy you. It was all for love.

"You know, Bill, we're amazing."

"What?"

"I mean, we used to be enemies. We were literally at each other's throats sometimes, and now we're in love. What kind of Axolotl-given miracle are we living, Bill?"

"A pretty damn good one, I believe, as much as I hate the big frilly," Bipper said, smiling with his gums.


	6. Bill and dipper

Dipper woke up in his bed. It was dark outside, and when he looked at the clock it read 12:00 a.m. The covers were pulled up around his shoulders and he snuggled into his bed, up against a warm, soft thing that was behind him, hoping he could get back to sleep.

Wait.

There shouldn't be something warm and soft behind him. He slowly turned his head, praying it wasn't something deadly, like a serial killer. Bill's florescent eyes shone in the dark, back at him. He nearly screamed, but Bill put a hand over his mouth just in time. Bill put a finger up to Dipper's lips, then pointed at Mabel. He gestured for them to leave the room. They got up and crept to the door, and once Dipper was outside Bill closed it softly. They walked together to Bill's room. Once they were inside, a flurry of whispers erupted from their mouths.

"Bill? Why do I have my body? Wha-"

"Oh, Pine Tree," Bill purred. "So very concerned about things, all the time. Why can't you just let a good thing come to you? But listen to us talking the night away. I had something else planned, you know."

"What did you plan?" Dipper asked, suddenly curious.

"Oh, my little Pine Tree, you can't just ask."

"What?"

"You have to make it special for me. Beg for it," Bill ordered. "Don't worry about noise, my room is soundproofed."

"Umm, okay," Dipper knelt down on the floor. "Please Bill, tell me what we're gonna do tonight, please,"

"Oh, come on, darling. You can do better," Bill said, his eyes turning slightly red.

"Oh, Bill, please! I wanna know what we're gonna do!" Dipper whined.

"Eh, you're getting there. But I still can't tell you. Not quite that good."

Dipper felt his heart race. He knew that if he didn't get out of Bill, there was no telling what might happen. Bill wouldn't have any reason to stick to what he originally thought of, and that means it might involve pain. Bill clearly wasn't thinking straight.

"Bill, come on! I wanna know!" Dipper pleaded, curling up smaller at Bill's feet. "Oh, oh, please?"

"Now we're getting somewhere!" His eyes returned to their normal yellow-goldness. "We're going to cuddle. I feel like I haven't touched you at all for awhile."

"Yeah, you haven't cause you were in my body!"

"What did you say?!" Bill roared, his eyes suddenly all red. Dipper scooted away from him, finding his back up against a wall.

"Nevermind, it's fine."

"Oh, okay," Bill said, eyes turning yellow once more. He walked over to his bed and sat down. "C'mere Pine Tree, I don't bite... you... yet." Dipper reluctantly stood up and smiled at Bill, walked over to him and sat down. Bill wrapped an arm around his lover's shoulders and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Murmuring into his ear, "Care to submit to me?" Dipper didn't pull away. Dipper also didn't know exactly what Bill was talking about, so he just froze. "Come on darling, you really thought we were just going to cuddle? I love you, but no. Just say you'll give me control, and I'll show you what we're really doing."

"Okay," Dipper whispered in suit, and Bill grinned.

"Just close your eyes until I say you can open them, and I'll take care of the rest." Dipper closed his eyes and felt Bill get off the bed. A moment later, he felt something being wrapped around his wrists, then feet. Dimly, he wondered what Bill was doing and if he should be worried, but Bill was right. He hadn't hurt Dipper yet. "Okay, Pine Tree. You can open."

As he suspected, he was tied up. His wrists were bound to each other, as well as his ankles. "Bill? Should I be worried?"

Bill started singing instead.

" _Oh, little Pine Tree don't you cry,_

 _Bill's gonna get you really high._

 _And if you still are sad,_

 _Bill's gonna fuck you up mad._

 _And if you ever start to smile,_

 _Bill's gonna keep doing it for awhile._

 _And if you ever like my screwing,_

 _Well then I guess I'll still do it."_

"In other words," Bill smiled at Dipper and walked over to him. "I hope you're not too worried about torture." He sat down on the bed next to Dipper and leaned in close, kissing him softly on the lips. Dipper kissed him back as best as he could. Bill threaded his hand through Dipper's hair, smiling into his lover's lips. Suddenly, he pulled away. Dipper whined. Bill smirked. He had power now. He unzipped Dipper's shorts and pulled down his underwear, letting his dick free from the cruel constraints of clothes. Dipper's eyes widened as Bill licked the tip of his phallus, which caused it to come to life. Bill bit down. Dipper screamed, whether in longing or pain Bill knew not. Bill giggled and ran his hands over Dipper's partially clothed body, digging his nails into sensitive spots like the inside of his thighs or his armpits. Dipper bit back a scream, then moaned and bucked his hips towards Bill when he bit down on Dipper's dick again.

"Oh, darling little Pine Tree, I didn't think you'd like that," Bill said, smirking.

"I hoped you wouldn't find out."

"I won't tell. I'll simply use it to my infinite advantage."

Bill wasted no time in putting the full length of Dipper's phallus in his mouth, making his partner moan again. He slid his tongue around, exciting Dipper's dick and causing it to grow harder and harder.

"Bill! I'm gonna..." he huffed a breath as Bill pulled Dipper's dick out of his mouth. Dipper whined, struggling around in his bonds, trying to get Bill back on him. Bill giggled as Dipper whined again. "Come on Bill! Don't be an asshole!"

"You're such a whiner when you're turned on. But you haven't given me anything yet. Before I'll make you cum, I need to some of that famous Pine Tree sex."

"Okay, okay, get over here!" Bill worked his way up to Dipper's head slowly, making Dipper whine once more. "Come on Bill!" Dipper urged him on, as Bill finally got up to his head. "What do you want me to do?" Bill smiled.

"Let me take off my clothes first. Patience, my little Pine Tree." Bill pulled off his shirt and for once, Dipper was silent, stunned by the tanned, lean body in front of him. He nearly drooled as Bill unfastened and pulled off his pants, then underwear. "Suck me, and I want you to swallow it all."

"Yes, Bill," Dipper said. Bill shoved his phallus down Dipper's throat, nearly choking Dipper. Dipper bobbed his mouth on Bill's dick, causing Bill to moan softly.

"Damn Pine Tree! I didn't kno-" Bill interrupted himself with a moan. "-ow you were... ohhhh... so good at this." Dipper didn't respond, just focused himself on sucking Bill. Bill moaned again and again, bucking his hips to get Dipper farther down on his phallus. Dipper went faster and faster, as just seeing Bill in such a state was enough to make him even more erect. He wanted to get this over with so Bill would finish him. Bill moaned one last time, and with a huge spasm, cummed into Dipper's mouth. Dipper swallowed it quickly, gulping it down, and nearly choking himself with every swallow. He lapped up all the excess that had leaked out of Bill's dick, all around his body. Dipper licked Bill up and down, his legs and torso, and most importantly, his pelvis. Bill took himself out of Dipper's reach.

"Are you gonna finish me now, Bill?" Dipper asked, his voice calm but his eyes betraying the need for this to happen.

"I don't know..." Dipper whimpered. "Well, I guess." Bill smirked at him and crawled back down to Dipper's pelvic area, biting down on his leg. Dipper moaned, his need for Bill more than overflowing his mouth. Dipper started to make small sounds that turned into whimpers, ones that sounded like a dog asking for food. This metaphor stuck in Bill's mind and he stowed it away for later use. For now, he finally guided his mouth back down to Dipper's dick, smiling as he flicked his tongue on and off the tip and Dipper moaned. He dug his fingers into Dipper's soft belly and sucked on Dipper's phallus, pulling his mouth off it as Dipper finally climaxed, letting out a huge moan.

"Oh, Bill," Dipper breathed.

"Little Pine Tree, I enjoyed that. You can expect another night such as this sometime soon." Dipper didn't know whether to be frightened or excited, but the thought of seeing Bill naked and tempting again was certainly a treat. Bill crawled over Dipper, releasing him and telling him to go back to his room. Dipper nodded and got up, trying to decide how to feel about Bill's sex methods. There was a lot to consider, and as he walked back to his room he figured it would be necessary to make a pro/con list.

"Hello bro. Where have you been?" Dipper nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Mabel, sitting up in bed wit a flashlight on under face, giving her horror movie lighting.

Dipper closed the door behind him. "I... uhh... nothing?" He said, sitting down on his bed. "I'll tell you some other time. I wanna sleep."

"No! Tell me now, Dip Dop! If you don't tell me now, you'll never tell me."

"Fine, fine. I was just getting a midnight snack."

"For an hour?"

"Hey, I eat slow."

"I think you were doing inappropriate things.

"Mabel, that's crazy. I don't like anyone."

"Yes, you do. You like Will."

"No, I don't."

"This isn't a thing you're arguing about with me. I'll ask Will in the morning if he knows what you were doing last night. I'm sure he'll be flustered enough to answer me honestly."

"Okay, Mabel." Dipper had no doubt in his mind that Bill would hide things even better than he could. He went to sleep comforted by the idea that everything would be safe from everyone. He and Bill would keep their secret and the world would stay innocent.

The next morning, Dipper woke up with the distinct feeling something was not right.


	7. Pinkie Promise

Dipper woke up with the distinct feeling that something was not right. It was a sinking feeling, the kind you get when you know something bad is about to happen and by now, there's no way to stop it. Dipper stood up, got dressed, and trotted down the stairs. He listened to the distant chatter of voices, the wind that sometimes wracked the house, the creak of the stairs as he walked down him. It reminded him that no matter where he actually lived over the school year, this was his home. This was where he felt at home. He wiped the sweat from his face and stepped into the kitchen. Mabel, Grunkle Stan, Bill, and Grunkle Ford all sat around the kitchen table, laughing hysterically about something.

"Good morning, Dipper," Bill said, smiling at him as he walked in.

"Morning, Will." Dipper replied, yawing and rubbing his eyes. Bill walked over to him, wiggling his eyebrows, got a glass and poured some milk into it. Dipper almost giggled back, but Mabel was piercing his head with a sharp stare.

"Hey, Will, what was Dipper doing last night?" Everyone looked at her oddly, but she continued to stare daggers at Dipper. Dipper felt like his insides were melting, not telling her things like this, but he didn't really see how it would be possible without telling her that Will was actually Bill, and also because it was probably illegal, what they had done. If Bill wasn't considered a minor, it was very illegal. Bill closed his eyes a second, smiled, then opened them again.

"I dunno, why?" He asked Mabel, shrugging.

"I woke up last night, and he wasn't in bed." Her voice was tense, and her smile wasn't even there.

"I told you, Mabel. I swear I was just getting a snack." Dipper said, feeling nauseous.

"Pinkie promise?" Mabel's eyes shimmered with hope. Dipper looked to the ground for a moment before saying it. Guilt coarsed through him. He was lying under a pinkie promise, to his one and only wonderful sister. It was a crime of crimes.

"Pinkie promise." They curled their pinkies around each other, and Mabel screamed.

"This means we can have fun today!" Mabel hugged him tightly and he hugged her back, admittedly less tight. Over her back Bill looked at him, grinning and he tried to grin back. Grunkle Stan coughed.

"Well, I better get the gift shop running. Tourists won't trick themselves. Will, you're helping," Griunkle Stan said gruffly, and Bill nodded.

"Okay."

Grunkle Stan walked away, and as Mabel released Dipper, he felt Bill's hand brush his shoulder when he followed Grunkle Stan. Dipper shivered, thinking of last night. He glanced at Bill's back and Dipper could swear he heard a small giggle escaped Bill's halfway parted lips. Dipper wanted to fall into the bottomless hole and fall forever, but h knew he would regret the decision later. He and Bill would tell everyone eventually. Not about the sex. But everything else. Definitely before the end of the summer.

"Dip Dop! Guess what we're doing today?!" Mabel screamed, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree on the Fourth of July.

"What, Mabel?"

"We're gonna go see the Multibear! He sent me a letter from his cave the other day, and he says he needs us as soon as possible, if we can swing it. And I'm sure you know that when I the Multibewar needs us, we can always swing it." Mabel said, pumping her fist.

"Of course! Let's go to the Multibear!" Dipper said, almost forgetting about the pinkie promise and him and Bill and their night. He still wasn't sure whether that was okay or not, and he thought it might be good to see the Multibear. The Multibear knows things, he was wise. Wise enough to listen to BABBA. Dipper pumped his fist too, and they set of into the forest to go see the Multibear.

Meandering along in the sunshine and all this green leafed wisdom and magic made him want to tell Mabel. She was chattering on and on about something or other, how she was planning to win over another kid who had stumbled into her clutches, when Dipper decided. He had to tell Mabel. He had to tell her because it made him feel like shit when he didn't. Keeping things from her wasn't his style. At all.

"Mabel," he said, stopping her rant over love. "Mabel I really need to tell you something."

"Anything at all, Bro Bro!" She said, loud enough for a bird to fly away into some distant treetop.

"Me and Bill- I mean, me and Will... well, Will's name is Bill 'cause he's Bill Cipher, the triangle dude that we fought the first year we came here, but Bill and I, oh God, is this even a good time? I mean, I should have waited. I should have conferred with Bill before... No, well it's already out of your mouth, Dipper. Bill and I are... Bill and I are... in a relationship," Dipper said, not taking his eyes off the ground once. Mabel was silent. So silent, it actually forced Dipper to look up to make sure she hadn't walked off or something. When he looked up, she was smiling.

"I'm not too sure how I feel about Will being Bill... I'll need so time... but honestly, Dipper," she said, and he was expecting a lecture. Looking back, it was never going to work, was it? She might be hopelessly romantic, but she's smart. "I just wanna say... I. Told. You. So! I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it!" She fell to the ground, giggling and Dipper stopped walking. He shouldn't have been so surprised. He smiled at her.

"So you're not incredibly angry that I kept this from you for a little?" He was still worried.

"Oh, Dipper, you little fiend! Why would I be angry when I so totally knew it!?" She stood up, still laughing and punching him in the arm. They kept walking, and Dipper didn't feel quite so bad about everything. One down, the most important one down, and two to go. He felt a little lighter and for once he could actually enjoy the beauty of the forest in summer. There were transparent green leaves everywhere and wildflowers blooming around the edges of the path, and much deeper into the forest if you cared to look. Soon enough, though, they were out of the forest and climbing up a steep slope, one that Dipper knew well. It was the Multibear's slope. Occasional squeals of surprise from his right, from Mabel, but she seemed to be fine. Over the few years they had been coming here every summer, Dipper had climbed this place a lot and he knew every handhold and foothold. It was kind of his training routine. Exercise or something like that, you know?

When they finally reached the top, a great dark cave yawned out before them. Dipper glance behind him. Mabel was still in one piece, and had made it just a little slower than Dipper. She was naturally agile.

"Are you ready to go in?" He asked her, and she nodded, smiling. He nodded back and they walked into the cave, leaving the fresh air and bright sunlight behind them.


	8. Multibear Cares

Dipper and Mabel stepped into the Multibear's cave. It was dimly lit by a torch every foot or so, and the air was stale. They shuffled to the place where the Multibear usually rested, but the cavern was empty and grey. It was almost sad to look at, and Dipper thought of it like an old beaten down hovel. Without Multibear, who had become a grand friend over the years, it was just... just sad.

"Multibear?" Dipper called out just loudly enough for the words to echo.

"Multibear we're here!" Mabel downright screamed. It echo back tenfold, then slowly drew itself down to silence.

"Mabel, how urgent did his letter seem?"

"I dunno, not super urgent. Not like medical emergency urgent."

"Let's find this bear... I guess." Dipper glanced around one more time. Suddenly, there was a big thumping sound behind them. They both whirled around, praying it wasn't something deadly.

"Oh hi guys!" The Multibear growled. "Did you get my letter?"

Dipper nodded, "but since you weren't here we thought you'd been kidnapped or something bad. When you're gonna be out but expecting people for an emergency you should leave a note, maybe." The Multibear nodded.

"Okay. Anyway, can you guys help me with the thing I want help with?"

"The letter didn't say what you wanted help with either. So Maybe." Mabel said, looking at him excitedly. "I hope we can help!"

"Oh, right, right. So I've been talking again with Hand Witch, that old hag who sometimes lives in caves around here. I haven't talked to her in years and oh my bear-god! She's hilarious. But she won't take me on a date because I don't have hands. But that's not the point of this. Anyway, she said she's been seeing evidence of another Weirdmaggedon in the future that's worse than the one we had before."

Mabel looked at Dipper. "We have to tell the Grunkles about this," she said, almost smiling but not quite.

"I know. We can decide who else needs to know later," he said as Mabel opened her mouth again. She closed it and nodded. "So how does the Hand Witch see these things?"

"I dunno, palm reading and tarot I think. Obviously not an exact thing, but I would have respect for her. Hasn't she caused some problems for you guys in the past?" Dipper nodded sheepishly.

"Is that all?" Dipper asked.

The Multibear nodded. "Stay safe guys. I'm going to bed." He plopped down on the ground and started snoring contentedly.

As they traveled back down the slope, Mabel poked Dipper so many times he almost fell off.

"What, Mabel?" He snapped, at the fifth poke. "Sorry," he said quickly.

"Are you gonna tell your boyfriend, Dip?"

"I don't know yet. I mean, I think I should but I don't know if it would be good... for the rest of us. He still has all his powers."

"I think you should keep it shut. I don't usually like dishonesty, but when all our lives are at stake and you managed to fall for the guy who almost killed us once, I think we get special rules." Dipper nodded.

"That makes sense, but I don't think we should tell Stan and Ford about Bill. That would put his life in unnecessary danger. He might not even be the cause of the apocalypse this time around!" Mabel nodded back at him.

They climbed, then walked, the rest of the way back to the Shack in complete silence, broken only by the occasional giggle from Mabel at cute fuzzy woodland creatures. She seemed to be able to find anything to smile about, even when they were about to start preparing for Weirdmaggedon, one that might be caused by Dipper's boyfriend, the dream demon who almost killed them once. Mabel wondered what Dipper would do when Bill started it again, if he would take his side, or bargain for the safety of the world with his life. What if he... what if... something terrible happened because of him or to him? What would she do if she could no longer love her brother in the same way as before? She decided unconsciously to push those thoughts away until she had to think about them. She didn't need melancholy distractions.

They reached the shack as the sun was setting, and Dipper turned around and stepped back from the edge of the forest suddenly.

"Mabel," he said, smiling, "I've never noticed how beautiful this whole place is before. I can't even get it into words, how I've started seeing the way the sun shines through the leaves and how color fills the forest to the brim." Mabel just laughed. Her brother was utterly, completely, in love.

They ate dinner all together, and it was nice. Bill joked around with all of them, though Dipper and Mabel found much less to laugh about than the Stans, it was still nice. Peaceful, a juxtaposition of what was happening in Dipper and Mabel's minds. They were thinking simply of all the death and destruction from Weirdmaggedon, how the Northwest's were still not quite back on their feet and how Greasy's still had problems with the food morphing into things suddenly as it enter a customer's mouth. That had scared a great deal of jumpy tourists from Gravity Falls forever, thus taking from the economy. Bill probably didn't realize how much damage he had cause, and it would be foolish to tell him the realities. He would love it. Finally, dinner was finished and Grunkle Ford stood up.

"I need to get back to my research," Ford stated simply and left the room.

"I guess that's the end, then," Grunkle Stan grumbled, and began to pick up plates. "Kids, help," he pointed to the table and the plates of leftover food.

"Can I go, Mr. Pines?" Bill asked politely, grinning at Dipper. Dipper grinned back, albeit halfheartedly. He kept all thoughts of Weirdmaggedon from his mind, however. After training from Ford the third year they came here, Dipper could control his thoughts almost perfectly. Bill wouldn't know anything he didn't want Bill to know. Mabel had gotten the same training, and he hoped that she was doing the same as him.

Stan simply nodded at Bill and he walked away. As soon as Bill was out of earshot, Mabel burst out.

"Grunkle Stan! Weirdmaggedon is gonna happen again!"

"What?"


	9. The Insomniac Blues

"Grunkle Stan! Weirdmaggedon is gonna happen again!"

"What?" Stan said, his eyes narrowing. "Get Stanford. Now!" he yelled when neither of us moved. Mabel took off running. "Dipper, tell me more." It was a command.

"Well, we went to visit the Multi-Bear, 'cause he sent Mabel a letter, and he told us that the Hand Witch told him that she had been having a lot of predictions about Weirdmaggedon, and she thinks it's gonna happen again, and it was gonna be worse than before. That's all we know for sure." Grunkle Stan just nodded gloomily, staring at Dipper like he might have just killed him. Mabel and Ford raced into the room, Ford nodding as Mabel explained it to him.

"Okay children. This is bad. That is a word for this situation. First, we need to figure out who is going to cause it. If it's Bill, we need to figure out how he will come back, and if it's one of his other friends, we need to figure out how to stop them. I will start preparations immediately. I think I still have some technology I can modify to sense when Bill Cipher or one of his cronies emerges. I, of course, can rebuild the memory gun if we need it... but other than that, I've got nothing. My life's work was in those Journals, so unless we find them again there will be almost no way to stop anything from happening. It should only be our last resort, though. Does everyone understand?" Ford asked, seeming the slightest bit like he had been expecting this for a while. Dipper would've laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. Everyone nodded and Ford put his hands together. "Final order of business. No one is to talk of this outside this house with the people in this room. No one else needs to know." Everyone nodded again, and Dipper glanced at Mabel. She smiled at him. Dipper glanced behind him after she returned her focus to Ford. He was half expecting Bill to show up behind him and kill them all.

"Can we start this all tomorrow, Sixer? I'm an old man and so are you, and it's past seven so I'm pretty exhausted." Grunkle Stan said, and his brother nodded.

"The human mind runs exponentially better on sleep."

After that, almost everyone in the house was asleep. Almost, because Dipper was kept awake by his pounding heart, which seemed to fill his ears with it's incessant need to pump blood through his veins. Sometimes he wished it would just stop. Then everything else would stop, too, and it would all seem a little more okay. He was consumed by thoughts of guilt. He shouldn't be keeping these kinds of things from his one true love. It was just that his one true love was the instigator of the apocalypse, nine times out of ten. He wanted to tell Bill of Weirdmaggedon. Make him think. Not telling Bill gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn't want to face. He laid awake for hours, contemplating how he would manage not to tell Bill, but every scenario he thought through just led to grief, one way or another. It was infuriating, but totally plausible. That's what made it so infuriating. By the time he fell asleep, he was awash in posiBILLities, dripping with sweat. But, he did find his way to sleep and when he woke up, he felt a little soothed.

He got up to go make breakfast for himself, but instantly something was wrong. He couldn't move. He tried to look around, but he couldn't get his neck off the pillow. He tried to lift his arms, or even to bend them, but it was no use. He tried his legs, too, but there was no hope. Finally, in one motion of desperation, he tried to thrust up his torso. It did not move. He thought about screaming, but that seemed like a bad idea. This all could be a dream, and he wasn't in any imediate danger. Scratch that. Bill's shadow covered his face in darkness.

"I see you've finally woken up." His voice was cold, emotionless. Dipper noticed as Bill leaned over his face that his hair, once grown past his shoulders, was now sticking up in odd chunks like he had cut it with scissors without looking. Somehow, it increased his beauty, but that was beside the point.

"Good morning, Bill. Can you... get these off me?" Bill shook his head. "Why?"

"You have something I need, Pine Tree..." The man glanced over his shoulder with a look of utter surprise on his face. "No!" he screamed, seemingly at the corner of the room, right where the door attached to the wall. "But I would like to have a conversation with my beloved beau first, of course," Bill said, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting Dipper's leg tenderly. "Do you ever feel like no one gets you, Pine Tree?" The way he said it was so sincere, so caring, but there was something in his eye that told Dipper he wasn't asking because he cared.

"Um... sure, I guess. Doesn't everybody?" Dipper decided to take a risk and be honest.

"No! Not everybody feels that way! It's only me and you, sometimes, Pine Tree, and today is one of those times. Your poor, poor family is all sleeping peacefully. They'll go about their days, unaware. Today, they don't remember you and it will be perfect. Just you and I. We needed a day, didn't we, Pine Tree? Weren't you getting a little sick of them?" Bill seemed to actually want an answer.

"No, I really wasn't, Bill. What do you want?" This conversation reminded him of their first year in Gravity Falls, but this time he didn't have Mabel by his side.

"I heard your conversation last night. Is there something you want to tell me, darling?" Dipper's mouth went dry.

"No..." he said, but his sides ached as he did.

"Are you sure?" Bill leaned in close to Dipper's face and he winced.

"Yes, I'm sure." He felt so bad, he wanted to rip his eyes out.

"You can't do that, Pine Tree! Then I wouldn't be able to do this!" Bill smacked him hard, right over his eyes. Dipper was sure it would bruise.

"I forgot you could read my thoughts..." Dipper said, smiling with his lips slanted.

"Would it be easier for you to tell me that way?" Dipper shook his head.

"It's never going to be easier when there's nothing to tell, Bill."

"You really need a pet name for me, Pine Tree," Bill spit like it was an insult.

"I don't wanna be that creepy person who calls their paramour "Rubber Ducky." Dipper said, glaring at Bill.

"Well, you don't have to use that, all you have to do is think of something you like a whole lot... I just love Pine Trees, and so it's your name," Bill said, trailing his hands over Dipper's chest, stopping on the bonds that held the boy.

"Okay, let's see... what about The Author?" Dipper said, almost laughing. Bill started laughing too.

"That's not half-bad, Pine Tree." Bill almost sounded normal again.

"Or maybe Disco Girl?" Bill laughed again, then suddenly stopped.

"What have I done to you?" He asked, mostly to himself, then shook his head. "I'm sorry Dip. Sometimes... sometimes I'm a horror show. I warned you." He stood up from the bed and snapped his fingers. Dipper felt the bonds release and he sat up.

"It's okay. Well, it's not okay, obviously, but I- I understand." Dipper said, standing up as well. "Man, it feels nice to move again." Bill nodded slowly.

"Now, I should have just asked you calmly. I know you're hiding something, which hurts, but assuming it has to do with my powers I can understand. Care to tell?"

Dipper shivered involuntarily and Bill hugged him, whispering an apology followed by a "I love you."

"Um, I shouldn't say. I can't say anything at all." Dipper said, and felt a pang of hurt.

"Oh, well, I guess it won't matter then if I just JUMP OFF A CLIFF?!" Bill asked, his eye turning red at the last four words.

"Wait, Bill!" Dipper shouted as Bill walked toward the window, looking out wistfully.

"You really won't tell me?" Dipper shook his head. "Oh, well." Bill turned towards Dipper, then did a back flip out the window. Dipper stared at the broken glass of the triangle window in sheer silent horror. He couldn't find the words to scream, couldn't find the words to whisper, he couldn't get anything in his system, not air or water or whatever he was supposed to breath at moments like these. He felt his heart speed up too much and his movement slow down tenfold. He walked all too slowly to the window and looked out from it, holding everything in before he saw the ground below.

No broken bodies, no blood. This was good. But now Dipper had to get to a cliff. Unfortunately, there were quite a few cliffs in Gravity Falls.


	10. Oil Spills, Blood Spills, and the Like

Dipper ran down the stairs of the Mystery Shack, praying to anyone who would listen that Bill would still be in one piece, with one heart still beating when he got to his love. he felt too slow and too fast at the same time, everything taking the wrong amount of time. He didn't even bother to put shoes on because he knew it would take hours to do.

"Hey, Dipper, why are running around? In your pajamas, even?" Mabel's cheerful voice asked him from the kitchen. He was about to blow her off when he realized that she was awake. She shouldn't be awake. Bill didn't usually bluff about thing he'd do or had done. He had enough under his belt to scare everyone short of the Axolotl.

"Hey, Mabel, do you think Bill's previously cast spells go away when he dies?" Mabel nodded.

"I'm pretty sure Grunkle Ford's said that before. Why?"

"Uh, we'll talk later Mabel. I have something I need to take care of!" Dipper tried to jog off again, but Mabel caught his arm.

"Dipper. You can talk to me. Spill."

"Well... oh man, why don't you just come with me. I don't even know how to explain this." Mabel nodded, seriously, more serious than Dipper could ever remember her. Like she knew some important's life was in danger. They ran out the door together, and Dipper quickly explained what had happened.

"So, do you know where cliffs are?" Mabel nodded again. "Maybe you should go hit ones on that side of town and I'll do the other?"

"Okay! Mystery Twins!" Mabel shouted before running off. Dipper almost found the will to laugh as he ran the other way.

Dipper could swear it was hours that he searched. He looked around and in between and all over every conceivable cliff in the town of Gravity Falls and outside it by just a little bit, but presumably Bill still couldn't leave the town boundaries. He would have bragged about it before now. But he didn't find Bill anywhere. He didn't find his body, either, which was a cold comfort in the face of this scenario. Then he saw it. His eyes widened and he couldn't quite believe it, but it was Bill on top of a the Gravity Falls History Museum building. His golden figure shined like fire in the night, even though it was the middle of the day by now. He was on the edge and no one was stopping him. He had probably enchanted them or something. There was a beam of sunlight shining down on him, and Dipper was stunned, but only for a moment. In that moment, Bill began to plummet from the top of the building, his body was already half-limp, his eyes catching Dipper's just as he hit the ground. Dipper screamed, louder and louder, probably louder than he'd ever done so before. Bill's body hit the ground with a bright splatter of blood and Dipper couldn't stop the tears forming in his eyes, couldn't stop them pouring down around him like butter off a pancake. Dipper ran over to Bill's body, still screaming, still moaning, still sobbing, still frozen, but not breathing either. It was how it happened, and Dipper couldn't take his mind of that fact that he had basically caused it. He had pushed Bill to this limit, he had pushed him. Dipper fell to his knees, suddenly silent, and the passerby made a path around him, not even seeming to notice that someone was dead and another someone was crying his eyes out over the dead boy.

"Medic! Ambulance! Someone!" Dipper screamed, and when he did, a person turned around.

"Do you need a doct- Oh lord Jesus Christ!" The man said, putting his hand on his heart when he looked at Bill. "I'll take him, you follow me. Are you family of any kind?" The doctor asked, picking Bill up bridal style, but much more carefully, and rushing off. Dipper followed.

"I'm not family, but I was his boyfriend."

"Does he have any family?"

"Not that I know of. Nobody alive, anyway..." Dipper trailed off, realizing that he actually didn't know what had happened to Bill's family. He just knew it hadn't been pretty. "Can I call my sister?" The doctor nodded and as they stepped in to the air conditioned hospital lobby, Dipper pulled out his cell phone and called Mabel.

"Hey bro-bro! You save your boyf yet?" Mabel sounded cheery. She always sounded cheery.

"No, actually, a doctor is helping him right now... I didn't make it in time, but luckily the building he jumped from wasn't extremely high."

"I thought you said it was a cliff." Mabel sounded almost sad. Almost not cheery.

"I thought it was a cliff too... he must've been confused, like a bird that flies into a window." Dipper choked down another sob. "Can you just come here? We're at the Gravity Falls General Hospital, right next to Skull Fracture."

"I'll be there in five," Mabel assured him, and hung up.

Dipper had been following the doctor while he was talking to Mabel, and he realized he had no idea where they were. Dipper and the doctor stood in a room with Bill laying on a bed. This felt so wrong, because Dipper should be the one restrained on a bed. It was how they had started off the day, so why couldn't they end it that way?

"Can you go back to the waiting room young man? We'll call you back when he's awake and okay." Dipper nodded numbly. The sight of a pale, sleeping Bill on a hospital bed made him feel like oil had been spilled inside his stomach. He walked slowly back to the waiting room/lobby and sat down. He was the only one there. He wasn't quite sure how he got back there, but he chalked it up to having a good sense of direction. As he sat down, Mabel ran in, pushing past and old lady in a wheelchair. She sat down beside him, smiling.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Dipper shrugged. "How long have you been waiting?" Dipper shrugged. "Why aren't you walking to me?" Dipper shrugged. "Okay. You can start talking whenever. I wanna read this magazine!" Mabel picked up magazine from the end table that read Human in big letters on the front. It also had a picture of the Sev'ral Times boys on it. Dipper couldn't think or feel, he couldn't even seem to see how crazy it was that Bill, the egomaniac, had committed suicide. He would've laughed at that but now, it didn't even seem to be in his field of vision. He couldn't think or feel, he just couldn't. Maybe he wouldn't let himself, he pondered as he stared up at the eggshell-colored ceiling. Maybe if he let himself think or feel at all he would break down, just like Bill had. He wondered if that would really be such a bad thing. He fell asleep with the slow, distant beating of his own heart as a lullaby.

"Dipper Pines?" A voice said, waking him. It must be the middle of the night, he thought, looking out of the automatic glass doors. He stood up.

"Yes?"

"The patient is awake."


	11. The Hospital Scene

Dipper's heart stopped. The patient was awake. Bill was awake. Bill was okay. Dipper felt himself nod, but didn't really register what was happening. For the second time that night/day, he blindly followed a hospital official through the halls. He knew Mabel was behind him, even without looking. He could feel it. The hospital was sterile and white. Being not pure white made him feel like he wasn't supposed to be right there right then. It would've been different if Bill had been with him, but he wasn't. Not right then. It was the weirdest feeling, knowing Bill was in the building but not being next to Dipper. Too quickly, but much too slowly, they reached Bill's room. He was just barely awake, and not quite in a state to have visitors, but this wasn't the world's best hospital, even if Dipper wished it was.

"Hey Bill..." he breathed from the doorway.

"Pine Tree." Bill addressed him, but it was weird. Bill didn't have the biggest presence in the room anymore. He felt tiny and delicate. Dipper walked over to him and put a hand on his arm. He was dressed in a hospital gown, the really shitty kind you'd see in any old movie, and there were bandages all over him, as well as an IV taped to the arm Dipper wasn't touching. Bill looked terrible, with large bags under his eyes and a little bit of dried blood on his forehead. Dipper rubbed it off with his middle finger gently.

"How are you?" Dipper asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

"How do I look?" Bill asked him back, and Dipper stopped himself from saying something rude.

"You look... like you fell off a building."

"No, I look like I jumped off a building. I'm miserable, Pine Tree." Bill said, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know that Weirdmaggedon is going to happen again. I know I'm gonna cause it. But despite all my crazy, all my sadomasochistic behavior, all my me, I don't want to hurt you or your world again. I love you, Pine Tree, and I forget that sometimes. I know that's what's gonna happen. I want to die so it doesn't." Dipper stood statue still, staring at the man before him. He was beautiful, and it hit Dipper almost as hard as it had hit him when Bill was getting ready to jump. Even pale and burnt out, even in a shitty hospital and their shitty gowns, Bill was stunning. Bill was the sun and the moon and the stars and every little piece of space dust that turned into a shooting star.

"Well, Bill, you've got to consider me too. What will I do without you? Who will I be without you? I don't care if you cause Weirdmaggedon again, because I'm sure we can fight your crazy. Together. I promise whatever you do can be undone. I mean, look at Gravity Falls now! We're basically healed."

"I'm not dumb, Pine Tree. I can see how much damage I caused."

"That doesn't matter, Bill. What matters is that you don't want that to happen again."

"That's not true."

"C'est vrai."

"You know French?" Dipper shrugged.

"Sometimes." Bill at Dipper smiled weakly.

"Hey, I want some rest now. I'll be out of this joint by tomorrow, I'm sure."

"Okay, I love you," Dipper said, kissing his forehead softly.

"I love you too, kid."

Dipper walked back to the waiting room, leaning on Mabel. As she guided him back into his chair, she looked at him. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he was getting ill.

"Maybe you should rest, too, Dip. I'm gonna get some coffee and food. Do you want anything?" Dipper shook his head and thanked her, then closed his eyes. He fell into a deep dreamless void of sleep before she could even walk away. His mind was permeated by the hope that Bill would be okay. Everything was dripping in that thought.

When he woke up, it was sunny outside again and his back hurt. He also had a headache, but all of the pains were unimportant. He needed to know how Bill was. He shook Mabel awake and asked her for his room number. Dipper wished he didn't have to wake his sister, but he needed to see Bill more than almost anything else.

"It's room 618," she slurred softly. Dipper thanked her and stood up. He set off to Bill's room and was there before five minutes had been up. Bill looked alive. He was breathing shallowly, but he was breathing, and his eyes were closed. A little bit of warm hope bloomed inside Dipper's heart. Maybe everything would be okay. Bill's eyes flickered open.

"Hey Pine Tree," Bill murmured. Dipper walked over to him and smiled.

"Hey," he answered back. "When are you coming home?"

"I don't know."

"How do you feel?"

"Bad, but I'll be okay soon."

"I want you to know something."

"Yeah?"

"I love you no matter what happens."

"I love you too, my Pine Tree. No matter what I do I love you." Dipper sat down in a chair across the room from the bed and sighed.

"I don't wanna move until you can come home," Dipper said, looking at his feet.

"We're both tired of resting. You should go out, do something you love to do. Run around, explore the forest. Live a little bit for me, will you?" Dipper shook his head vigourusly.

"I can't do that Bill, I can't do things without you. It makes me feel sick to even think of this summer being over, and I want to spend as much time with you as I psyically can."

"That's sweet," Bill said, and smiled. Stronger this time, like he really had the will to. They lost each other for a little bit, then, in the sea of thought that happens when you're silent with the one you love. Dipper stood up, a glitter of determination in his eyes.

"I'll find something for us together. I'll bring something back here for us to do together, and that way I can be with you and we can both live a little!" Dipper exclaimed. Bill smiled even wider and nodded as much as he could.

Dipper dashed out of the room, out of the hospital, his mind racing for things, anything he could do with Bill while he was bedridden. Suddenly, he had an idea. It would be perfect, Dipper was sure. Bill would love it.


	12. Pyramids, the Illuminati, and Others

Dipper was all movement, a flurry of his hands and feet and knees, all scurrying around, like a little vole, trying to find his idea. It was a book he remembered well from his childhood. A book might not be considered "living a little," but he was so sure Bill would love it, he didn't care. He searched all over the Mystery Shack, because he was sure he had seen it before. He was so sure, it was something with a ruddy cover, with a pyramid on it, which couldn't be too hard to spot. He looked through a lot of rooms that Bill probably knew about but Dipper didn't, or maybe he did but it was never important. He looked in his room and in other rooms, even in places where he knew it wouldn't be. He accidentally stepped into a closet full of glitter and made a mental note to tell Mabel about it later. He found a room full of cages of various sizes that looked like most of them had been broken or opened, which was creepy. Then, he found a door, painted over like the wax museum once was. The door handle was still very much intact, however, and Dipper pulled on it. It opened. It wasn't dusty, and honestly worked pretty well. It obviously had been opened recently. Inside was a large room, gleaming and immaculate, with a desk and on that desk sat... Dipper couldn't believe his eyes. It was a reddish brown leather book with gold binding and a gold cutout of a six-fingered hand on it. There was a large black four in the middle. Dipper didn't know whether to feel angry or shocked or just ignore it. He couldn't just ignore it, however. That wouldn't make sense. He had to talk to Grunkle Ford at the very least, if not Mabel and Grunkle Stan. Dipper closed the door behind him instead and sat down at the desk, opening the book. There was table of contents and page numbers this time, which he smiled at. It had been one of his suggestions for Ford. He looked down the table of contents, smiling once again at the new code. Maybe it would be harder to crack. Maybe it would even be vigenere! Dipper almost squealed at the thought, then remembered he should probably be quiet. Bill's room was the only soundproofed one. That's right. Bill... He could sneak back into this room another time. He slowly crept up from the chair and out of the room, making sure no one saw him do anything.

"Dipper? What are you doing?" Darn.

"Uh, hi Grunkle Ford, how are you on this fine day?" Dipper tried to look him in the eye.

"Dipper. Did you find my secret room?"

"Uh... yes?" Grunkle Ford stared at him for a second, then looked to the ground.

"What do you think of it?" He said softly, almost like he was scared.

"It's a very nice room..." Dipper wasn't exactly sure what to say. "I found the journal too, and I thought we were over those. But I like the table of contents and the page numbers. I didn't look at much else." Grunkle Ford nodded.

"Page numbers, huh... Are you angry?" He asked, this time looking at Dipper.

"No- I mean, yes, but not right now. I'm too worried to be busy." Dipper almost clasped a hand over his mouth. He hadn't meant to say the last part, but Grunkle Ford didn't seem to notice.

"Are you going to tell everyone else?"

"I don't know. Should I?"

"Probably."

"Whatever. I'll tell them later." Dipper was surprised at his own lack of enthusiasm about this, but them again, he did have a boyfriend in the hospital due to attempted suicide, so maybe Dipper had an excuse. Grunkle Ford nodded at him, opened the secret door and closed it, and then Dipper was alone in the hallway. He kind of felt like an idiot, standing in a hallway where nothing else stood. Except something did stand there, but no one else knew it was there. He knew he shouldn't feel like an idiot, but he did. Weird.

He began to walk around again, still looking for his book. He couldn't find it anywhere though, and he had already searched most of the Mystery Shack. It looked like it was time for a trip to the library. He walked to it, because he didn't feel like explaining to anyone why he needed a car to go to the library. It was a fairly hot day, and he sweated quite a bit, but it didn't really bother him. It did bother him, however, that it was almost the end of June, and the end of August approached with each passing day. He still had to figure out what to do when Bill was left alone here. Bill couldn't leave Gravity Falls, but his parents had already refused to let them move there. He shouldn't think about that right now, though. He stepped into the library, realized it wasn't air conditioned, and sighed. Of course. Only about half the people who lived in Gravity Falls were literate anyway, why would they spend any money on the library? Maybe he would become mayor one day and change that.

He searched the stacks with the kind of intensity you only got from hope and fear, boiling together in your stomach. He searched every section, even the ones where he knew it wouldn't be, just in case someone had put it back wrong or something. No one had. He walked up to the attendant at the front desk and they looked at him. It was Pacifica Northwest.

"Dipper? What are you doing here?" he asked, seeming surprised.

"It's the library, Pacifica. Do you expect me to be other places?"

"Welcome back to Gravity Falls, dork. What do you want?"

"I need your help finding a book," Dipper said, rolling his eyes.

"There's a book!" She pointed in the direction of the stacks. "Leave me alone."

"Pacifica, I really need this! Please, just once, can you help me?" Dipper hated begging for things, especially from rich girls who he used to like but then they didn't pick up on it in time, but this was a necessary evil.

"Fine, dork. Which one?"

"I think it's called 'The Pyramids Were Built By Aliens, and Fifteen Other Conspiracies Your Boyfriend Will Make Fun Of'."

"Follow me. Do you even have a boyfriend?"

"No..." He said, almost grinning. "I just like conspiracies." They stopped at a back section that had an overstacked shelf.

"This is it," Pacifica said, pointing to a big, flat book that had a pyramid on the cover.

"Okay, thank you."

He checked it out and ran to the hospital, then to Bill's room without any warning to the attendant there. She shrugged and resumed playing solitaire. She was alone in this world, and she figured it wasn't here place to stop those who need to go into the hospital wings. A voice in the back of her head told her that it was literally her only job to do that, but she shrugged again and smiled. She was the queen of anarchy.

"Bill!" It was late afternoon, though you couldn't tell from the lack of windows, and Dipper held up his book proudly. "I got something!" Bill smiled at him.

"Thanks Pine Tree!" He looked at lot better and some of his luster had returned. Mabel smiled at him from the chair in the corner.

"I got to sing for W-Bill!" She shouted, grinning. Everyone giggled and Dipper sat down on the edge of Bill's bed, and began to read out loud all the conspiracies. Bill chimed in whenever he knew one was fake, to criticize and correct. Dipper read until the very last page, until it was very dark out. No one came back to stop him, so he hoped it was fine to be saying so late. The queen of anarchy felt a surge of happiness as he thought that.

"My Pine Tree, I loved it," Bill said as Dipper finished reading. Dipper smiled and nodded.

"I hoped you would."


	13. Ice Cream Man

Bill was home. It had been a week since Dipper had read the book to him, which he did many more times before Bill left the hospital for good. It was hard for Bill to convince the hospital that he was ready to be released, even after a week, but Bill said that he felt staying in the hospital any longer would impede his progress more than anything else, and while Dipper wasn't sure of this, because Bill had tried to commit suicide, Dipper was ready for Bill to come home and he needed to talk to Bill badly anyway. He still wanted to arrange something in case Bill ever felt so bad again that he wanted to do that... Dipper was determined not to let his hopes soar so low, and if Bill ever did try and do something like that and succeed, Dipper wasn't quite sure what he would end up doing. Dipper didn't want to live without Bill. Every word he said to Bill was true, especially when it came to love and other things of the sort.

"Pass the milk, Dipper," Bill said, grinning at him. He grinned back and passed the milk.

"So Will..." Grunkle Ford started. "Where were you for the past week and two days?"

"I was in the hospital!" Bill said excitedly, smiling.

"Why?" Bill's face fell. He didn't look very excited anymore.

"Um... that's something I'd rather not talk about."

"Well, you're living in my house for an undetermined amount of time. You're telling me."

"Oh, okay. I, uh, wanted to die. And I acted on those feelings." Grunkle Ford was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said, then went quiet. Bill shrugged and kept eating.

After that, everyone ate in near silence. Dipper and Bill had a few side conversations, but nothing that mattered.

"Oh, Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed, throwing a hand up. "I found a room full of glitter for you!"

"Really!? Oh my God, please show me after dinner! Yaaaa-"

"That's not glitter." Stan said and crossed his arms.

"What?" Dipper, Mabel, and Ford said at once.

"It's not glitter. That's all you need to know right now."

Ford chuckled. "You're starting to sound like me, Stanly." Stan laughed outright and nodded.

"I guess I am."

Dipper woke up the next morning with hope. He breathed deeply, closing his eyes and stretching his arms. He didn't know why, but today was bound to be a good day with many possibilities. It was something he had longed for since he had come here this year, but neither him nor Mabel had gotten a day like this yet, and by the looks of it, they would spend it together. Mabel had just woken up too. Maybe this was a day they could forget about the impending Weirdmaggedon threat, they could just do something nice. Relax a little bit, fall in love a little more with whatever they fell in love with. Something truly fun.

"What do you want to do today, Mabel?" He asked her.

"I want to get a boyfriend!" This?

"Okay, I'll help you today. I don't think I have anything to do, and Grunkle Stan closed the Mystery Shack today."

"Why and how do you know? You haven't gotten out of bed." Mabel crossed her arms and raised a brow.

"Grunkle Stan told me before he went tro bed yesterday. He's giving us a day off, mostly because Grunkle Ford wants him to help prepare for Weirdmaggedon. But Ford said he doesn't need us right now, so we can have the day off. Stan looked at me when he said that in a way that said 'you better use it'." Dipper said, with the last part in his best impression of Grunkle Stan. Mabel giggled and nodded.

"Yay!" She screamed. They both got up, got dressed in the bedroom and bathroom, and then Dipper knocked on Bill's door.

"What?" He mumbled. He sounded half-asleep.

"Do you wanna come with me and Mabel? The Mystery Shack's closed today."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I'll be out in five."

"Okay," Dipper said, grinning. Mabel grinned back. They went downstairs and ate breakfast quickly, then sat at the table talking loudly until Bill came down, ate breakfast too, and then finished.

"Are you ready to find me a boyfriend?!" Mabel shouted and Dipper and Bill nodded.

"Indubitably," Bill said.

"What?" Bill shook his head, laughing. They walked out together, off to the town.

Once they got to the town, Mabel began to scout out some spots. She looked all around, while Bill and Dipper followed her, for what Dipper could only hypothesize was hot boy-hot spots. Eventually, Mabel began to explain to them the dynamics of the town and how to determine hot boy-hot spots.

"Well, Greasy's is always a big hit because half the people here eat all their meals there, but also it isn't a great spot for cool boys. They mostly hang out behind the stores on main street and in alleyways, but if you don't know which stores or alleyways, you will look dumb. Now, we could just walk back and forth between Greasy's and main street, but that would be exhausting and not very fruitful. I've experimented with it before. So, my thoughts are we go to the Ye Olde Icee Creame Parlore down on main street and wait there, like a predator. Due to my calculations, which factor in the hotness of the boys and the hotness of the day, we should be getting premium meat after an hour or two." Both Bill and Dipper were silent for a second, then nodded.

"That was amazing, Shooting Star, but don't talk like we're hunting. I'm old enough to actually be a teenage boy or child predator..." He glanced at Dipper. "Technically, I guess, I am." He blushed and so did Dipper. They looked at the ground simultaneously.

"Okay," she shrugged and giggle. "That doesn't change the fact that I knew it!" She shouts, Dipper sighed, and Bill laughed.

They walked to the Ye Olde Icee Creame Parlore and sat for awhile, everyone happy to be out of the hot sun and avec ice cream. They sat together for hours, just enjoying the company of the others around them. They were basically the only ones in the ice cream shop, except for the owner, and so they didn't have to worry about looking dumb in front of people if they went of on their old inside jokes or something. It was nice, and just what Dipper had wanted. A perfectly normal day where he got to hang out with the two people he loved most in this world. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Then a boy walked in. He was tall, taller than Dipper, with brown hair and freckles across his face. He had blue eyes, though, which made him look striking in a very natural way. It was odd. Mabel waved to him and stood up. He walked over to her.

"Hey, what's up?" The boy asked her, not quite smiling.

"I'm sorry, I just saw you and knew I had to talk to you! Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?" The boy stared at her for a second, then took a step back.

"I'm sorry, too, I just... I have a partner."

"Oh, okay! I'll see you around then!" Mabel shouted, waving to the boy and sitting back down at our table. Even though she didn't show it, Dipper could tell she was heartbroken.

"You okay?" Dipper asked her, touching her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's only the first guy." Mabel said this, but her eyes said something else. Her brows were scrunched up, like she was concentrating really hard on something. They waited a little more, and after another few minutes, teenage boys were coming in by the handful. It was amazing, how accurate Mabel was even though she hadn't use paper, pencils, or even just a calculator.

"Mabel, you hit the bull's eye. This is crazy!" Dipper exclaimed, hoping it would make her feel just a bit better. It did.

"You really think so?" She asked softly. Dipper nodded.

"You have a talent for locating things, I would say," Bill chimed in, and Mabel smiled her old happy smile. She stood up.

"I'm back to the chase!" She shouted, causing a few people to look at them. She turned to one of the looking people, a boy a little bit younger than Bill, maybe seventeen, with blond hair and a big grin. "You're very handsome, would you like to have dinner with me?" The boy nodded.

"Yes, I think I would. There's nothing I can't admire about someone like you." Mabel blushed suddenly, her eyes wide.

"Wait, for real?" He nodded again. "Okay... do you wanna have dinner tonight?" He nodded once more, smiling.

"I'll pick you up at eight. What's your address?"

"618 Gopher Road." The boy nodded to her and she walked out of the shop. We followed her, Bill quickly paying for our half-eaten ice cream.

We followed her all the way home. We got there about five or six minutes after her, because she ran all the way. She locked the twins door as soon as she was home, and that was the last either Bill or Dipper saw of her for a few hours. About ten minutes after they got home Pacifica rushed through the house, a violent storm in her own right, claiming an emergency. Dipper would have been more worried if he didn't know Mabel so well.

At eight sharp, the doorbell rang and Mabel rushed down the stairs, Pacifica right behind her. Mabel was nothing short of breath taking. He long hair was brushed, so that it was as wavy as normal, but tidy. She was dressed in a deep blue dress that hit her right below the knees, with matching flats. She had sparkly silver earrings. She ran to the door, opened it, and smiled at the boy.

"Bye Dipper! Don't wait up!" She called as she took the boy's hand and walked out into the night. Dipper smiled after her, and Bill put an arm around his shoulders.

"Are you going to wait up?" Bill asked, and Dipper nodded, still looking at the now closed front door. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Bill said, and led Dipper to the TV room. "Let's watch some shitty movies."

"Okay," Dipper said, and they both sat down, snuggling against one another as Bill flipped on the TV.


	14. The One

Mabel came home two hours later, her hair less tidy and a few scratches on her cheek. Dipper heard the front door open and he rushed to the lobby. Her dress was rumpled a little, but nothing a little dry cleaning couldn't fix. She looked only a bit sad, like she had been expecting it, but her spark was still shining brightly.

"Another one?" Dipper asked her, walking to where she stood in the entryway. She nodded, looking at the ground. "It's okay. Someday, you find a beautiful boy who doesn't come from Gravity Falls an-"

"SIKE!" She roared, and the boy walked in through the open door.

"Hello, I'm Justin," the boy said with a British accent. He stuck his hand out to Dipper.

"Hello," Dipper said, shaking it. "And this is all for real?" Mabel nodded earnestly. "That's great!" Dipper exclaimed, hugging his twin tightly. She smiled at him again once he released her. Then she looked at Justin.

"I'll be off now, I think," Justin said, and bowed to Mabel. "M'lady," then looked at Dipper. "Good to meet you," he said and Dipper nodded. He strode out, closing the door behind him.

"Wow, he's polite," Dipper said, and Mabel smiled wide.

"I know, he's perfect!" Mabel said, then ran upstairs. Dipper smiled as she ran, then walked back into the TV room and poked Bill. Bill stared up at him, grinning. Dipper nodded, then rolled his eyes. They walked up to Bill's room, hand in hand, and Dipper stepped just inside the door. Bill pulled the door shut behind Dipper.

"Bill, we can't do this today," Dipper said, but Bill shushed him. "Bill, really..." Bill put a hand to Dipper's mouth.

"I just want to talk to you, my tree." Dipper froze and Bill removed his hand. Dipper nodded and Bill smiled. "I know... you'll be gone in a little more than a month. I know Weirdmaggedon might be coming again. I know I'm pretty insane sometimes. I know life is going to get to us and try and beat us down. But promise me..." Bill looked away from Dipper, down to the floor. "Promise me you'll never forget about us. Promise me you'll never use the memory gun to leave me in the dust. Promise me that no matter what happens to our relationship, you'll always remember that at one point in time I loved you with every little bit of my sewn together body and every little fiber of my version of a soul."

Dipper stared at his lover for a minute. He hadn't expected that. "Okay," he agreed, still a little shocked. "I won't. And I love you, too, Bill. I know I don't say it often enough, but I really appreciate you being here and the fact that even though you get really sad sometimes, you've kept hanging on for me."

"Good. I love you too. Now I can sleep tonight, unless you wanna...?" Bill trailed off and wiggled his eyebrows. Dipper giggled.

"No, I'm tired." Bill nodded and pushed him out of the room.

Dipper walked to his room, and though their rooms were only a few twists and turns apart, it felt like it took hours. He sighed as he walked and thought about how much he would miss Bill. He didn't quite know what he would do without the man by his side, as he had become such a staple of Dipper's life. He was still young, and things may change through the years, but right now he knew that without Bill, he would be broken. He wandered through the dark halls, stumbling every few minutes on some pried up floor board. Eventually he got back to the room he shared with Mabel and flopped down on to his bed, sighing in relief as he fell asleep.

"Dipper. Dipper. Dipper, I need your help," someone was saying as he opened his eyes. He made out Grunkle Ford from the blur of sleep.

"Yeah?" Dipper asked as he woke up more, realized that Ford wouldn't be asking for help unless he really needed it.

"I know this a big ask for you... and Mabel will be helping you, of course, but I need you to go out into the Multiverse and find the Journals. Even if you can only find one of them, I need it. I know I'm working on four, but it won't be enough. I'm older now, than when I first made the Journals and I can't remember everything. Do you think you can do it?"

Dipper nodded. "I think I have a good chance of finding them. How soon do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, or I guess today. This afternoon. You'll have a few hours to say goodbye to your friends or... something." Dipper looked at the clock. It was four a.m.

"Grunkle, why are you up? You should be resting. Wait, don't tell me you got Bill to posses you and right now you're... Fipper or something."

"No, not at all. I would never make that mistake again. In fact, if I ever saw Bill again, if he's even alive, I would shot him where he stood."

"Really?" Ford nodded.

"If it makes you feel better, I even checked out our visitor in case he was Bill trying to infiltrate our family from the inside. But we're completely safe. Apparently, it really is a random guy off the street who's name happens to be William, of which Bill is a common nickname, who recovered from various injuries within a week and has become a great friend to you guys, like another Soos or Wendy... wait, that sounds more suspicious than the last time I assessed our situation out loud. I'll go check th-"

"Grunkle, please. Just go to sleep. You can check in the morning. On an unrelated side note, can me and Mabel take Will with us?" Grunkle Ford nodded.

"Okay, I'll sleep. And you can take Will, I guess. If you really want that." Dipper nodded.

"I do. And Mabel would. But now, we sleep."

"Right..." His Grunkle said, trailing off and standing up. "You would want that." He walked away without further explanation, and Dipper quickly went back to sleep. Ford might be used to being awake at night, but Dipper wasn't.

 **A/N: Sorry I missed two days there, guys. I just needed a mental health break. I hope you're enjoying the story, and sorry if Ford's a little OOC.**


	15. Mountains Out Of Clouds

It was late evening in Gravity Falls, Oregon, and Dipper was nervous. He would be leaving his beloved home dimension in exactly an hour, when the moon was at its peak in the sky. He and Mabel and "Will." Grunkle Ford had built a makeshift one-way portal that he said had an uncalculable chance of landing them in any given dimension.

"Just let me attach the dimensional vortex neutralizer," Grunkle Ford mumbled as he glared at a small black box. He fumbled with it a bit more and after awhile it chirped happily.

"I wish I could just teleport us to the right place..." Bill whispered to Dipper, his lips brushing Dipper's ear. Dipper shivered, then nodded.

"I know, but Grunkle Ford would be even more suspicious of you if you did, and he might not let you go with us." Dipper whispered back, and Bill nodded. They stood closer than they should have, given their secret relationship, but no one seemed to notice. Mabel had been babbling about Justin for the past half hour, and was probably obsessing over him long before that. Grunkle Stan was glancing in between the children and his brother nervously, in a rare show of vulnerability. Everyone was too focused on their respective projects to notice when Bill gave Dipper a small kiss on the top of his head. Dipper blushed and punched Bill in the arm.

"Don't do that! Someone could see us," Dipper whispered and Bill laughed.

"I know, I know." Bill looked at the sky.

An hour later, Ford stood up suddenly. The moon was high above their heads, the stars seeming to shimmer brighter than normal. The darkness was warded off by a sharp blue glow coming from the circle circumscribed inside of the larger, metal triangle. It was fascinating in the way that watching someone get their hand cut of is fascinating.

"I'm done," Ford said gruffly, looking at his creation with furrowed brows. "You won't be able to come back for a while yet, children. Me and Stan will take care of everything while you're gone, so don't worry about this dimension. Focus on getting the Journals. You can fill Will in when you reach the other side. I would tell you to be safe... but that seems silly." Ford looked at the group suddenly and smiled at them all. "Goodbye, and good luck." Stan pushed Ford forward and crushed them all together in a huge hug.

"Don't forget about us! Sixer will bring you guys back when it's time. Goodbye." Grunkle Stan said, and everyone smiled, suddenly tearful. Even Bill's eyes sparkled.

"Bye grunkles! I love you!" Mabel called out, and ran over to the portal.

"Bye Ford... Bye Stan. I'll miss you guys," Dipper said softly, then walked over to Mabel and stood by her side. The portal was making a large wooshing sound, like a car revving, and he couldn't quite hear what Bill said as he hugged their grunkles and waved goodbye, but Dipper was sure it was something special. Something good. The portal grew louder and louder, and right when it was at the loudest Dipper thought he could stand, Ford and Stan were waving at them and Mabel and Bill were clutching his hands tightly and he was clutching theirs and they ran and jumped into the portal together and suddenly the darkness grew blindingly bright and the soft summer chorus of crickets was deafening. Then everything went dark, then light, then silent, then too loud, then they were sliding down on top of a rainbow and Mabel was screaming. Dipper was, too. Bill was just smiling sublimely. Mabel and Dipper landed on the ground with a loud drum-like thump that sounded a bit like thunder, but Bill just stepped gracefully from the rainbow-slide to the ground, still smiling. Dipper stood up, brushed pure white dust off him and nearly screamed. Mabel looked at him, then looked where he was looking and screamed too.

"B-Bill! How are we not... not falling?" Dipper asked after a second of getting his breath back.

Bill shrugged. "I could go into the physics of this place, or I could save you some sanity. If we're gonna travel the multiverse, you need to learn how to take things in stride. The point is, we're standing on clouds and not falling. Lucky for you all, I know this place pretty well and I think once Shooting Star over there gains her bearings, she'll love it." Bill pointed to Dipper's twin, who was licking the clouds. Dipper laughed a little bit and nodded. He took a second to look around him, and be awed by it. After all being surrounded by white was pretty amazing. They stood on clouds, pure white and beautiful like a bed of snow. The sky above them was a light blue, but around the edges it was a little bit red or purple.

"Bill, this place is really pretty," Bill pulled him into a half-hug and nuzzled the top of his head.

"It is, my Pine Tree. I can tell you're being genuine particularly because you have never said pretty to me before," Bill said, laughing a little bit under his breath. "We can even do things now. Freely. It would be a feat of glory if Sixer or Fez somehow caught wind of us out here." Dipper nodded, grinning.

"I was looking forward to that," he said and kissed Bill's chest. Bill laughed.

"Mhmm. Maybe even a little me and you alone time, if Shooting Star would be safe without supervision for an hour or two," Bill said, his right hand crawling up Dipper's side. Dipper breathed in sharply.

"I actually should talk to you about that... I'm not sure I'm ready for your kind of sex again. It was a little... intense," Dipper said. His heart raced. What if Bill didn't want him after he said that? Bill's hand stopped.

"I understand. I think I was in the middle of going crazy that time, but if you really don't want to I can wait." Dipper let out his breath.

"Let me think about it. Okay?"

"Okay."

As fine as Bill looked on the outside, how he never lost his smile and his eyes never stopped looking at Dipper, somehow the boy knew his lover was upset. Maybe because his hand didn't climb anymore, or maybe it was his gait as they walked away from their landing spot, once Mabel finally got her barrings. Maybe it was how he talked, how he just didn't sound like the living incarnation of desire when he talked to Dipper. But Dipper had to set his foot down. He wasn't really okay with what had happened last time, crazy or not, and he was determined to communicate that to Bill. They had been walking for a little bit when Dipper had decided that, and suddenly he was pulled from his thoughts by Bill's hand on his shoulder.

"Pine Tree. Shooting Star. Wait." Bill stood stick straight, which was funny considering his current object of love and lust. He seemed to be staring at something in the distance that neither Dipper nor Mabel could see, however much they squinted.

"What is it, Bill?" Dipper asked, wrapping an arm around his paramour's waist.

"The storms. I forgot about the storms. We need shelter, a town, a cave, literally anything that isn't completely exposed. Now." Dipper swung his head around, searching for some kind of structure, something at all. He didn't see anything. It was Mabel who spoke up.

"I see something! Over there!" She pointed to a large white figure in the distance that Dipper hadn't seen before.

"Perfect," replied Bill. "I just hope we can get there in time."

And then they ran. They ran like something was chasing them, like in a horror movie, because something was chasing them. It was just that only Bill knew exactly what it was. Which made it just a little bit more scary, at least to Dipper. Finally, after the longest run Dipper thought he had ever done, they got to the white thing. It turned out to be a large mass of clouds, what Dipper assumed was a mountain in this dimension. It even had little clouds circling its peak, and that made Dipper laugh. It seemed redundant, but it was the multiverse. Whatever works.

"Come on, up there!" Bill shouted, glancing behind him. He pointed to a small cavity about ten feet up in the mountain and they started to climb. Dipper was reminded of his time climbing up and down the Multibear's mountain and he smiled. "Why are you so happy? We're about to die if we don't speed up a little more."

"The Multibear. I used to climb his mountain all the time. We were good friends, because I didn't kill him this one time." Bill nodded.

After about five minutes of climbing, they had all reached the cave and they stepped inside, Mabel clinging to Dipper and Dipper clinging to Bill. Bill didn't cling to anyone, he just stepped inside. It was a weird felling to be inside a cloud. It was kind of grey all over and Dipper could feel the cold mist that had settled inside the cave already seeping into his bones. He shivered and Bill stepped behind him and hugged him. Mabel danced around the cave, like there was music playing, and smiled at them.

"Boys, I knew it! I got it, I guessed it, I knew it!" She sang, and Bill laughed.

Boom. There was a loud crash from outside and Mabel stopped dancing. Dipper would've jumped if Bill hadn't been anchoring him to the floor.

"Bill?" Mabel asked, her voice trembling. "What was that?"

"That was what we were running from. The storms here are more vicious than any of us would be used to. They can kill you if you're not careful, and they're hard to see because they're seen on the ground until they hit an object, like this mountain."

"Oh, man, can we leave this place?" Dipper asked, and Mabel glanced at him. Dipper, you see, was deathly afraid of thunder and lightning. Neither of them had really grown up with thunder storms, living in western California. Rain, sure, but not much thunder and lightning.

"Not yet. Sorry, but if we're going to find the Journals we have to search every plane we go to." Dipper moaned and walked away, deeper into the cave. He slid down a wall and put his head in his knees. Mabel went over and sat by him, rubbing his back like their mom used to when Dipper would get scared.

"I know you're scared Dipping Sauce, but think about how our dimension needs you. If we don't get these Journals, Weirdmaggedon might happen again, and we might not be able to stop it. Think about yourself, think about me, think about Bill, think about our Grunkles!" Dipper looked up at her, smiling a little bit. "Also think about Justin! If we don't save Justin, I'll never get to have a normal epic summer romance, and think how sad I'll be." Dipper flat out snorted, then nodded.

"You're right. I'll deal with it. I'll be stron-" another big boom echoed and Dipper retreated backwards into the cave more, clouds puffing up around him when he pushed himself into the wall. "I'll be strong right after this storm." Mabel nodded and went to sit by him again, and Bill sat down with him too.

"It'll be okay," Bill whispered to Dipper. "We're here for you."


End file.
